BOOMS and BUSTS

Hey all, my name is Kamal Yechoor, and I will be a regular contributor to Double Dribbling. A little bit about me, I've been following the NBA since I was about 3 (no joke). I've been a fantasy basketball addict since the 2001 season and my current favorite team to watch is the Portland Trailblazers.

After almost a month into the basketball season, I feel its worth recognizing those players that have outperformed their expectations, as well as those perennial all-stars that are simply underachieving.

So without further ado, the Booms and Busts of the first month of the 08-09 campaign of the Association...

BOOMS

1) Nene Hilario PF/C DEN - Nene after being plagued by injuries for much of the last few seasons has been receiving a career high 33 minutes per game thus far and has not missed a game this year. He is making the most of those minutes as well, putting up career highs in PTS (15.4), REB (7.3) and BLKS (1.8). Not to mention a league-leading 63.6% from the floor and a commendable 74.6% from the line. Not bad for a guy that played only 81 games in the previous 3 seasons combined.

2) Devin Harris PG NJ - After the Mavericks spent the 5th pick of the draft on this kid in 2004, nobody ever questioned his talent, we just had never seen what he could do as a full-time starting point guard. Thus far this season Harris has exploded for over double his career scoring average with 23.0 ppg, and is averaging almost 12 FT attempts a game. Strong peripheral stats of 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 3.5 rebounds a contest, have him as an early frontrunner for Most Improved player of the year.

3) Andris Biedrins C GS - Simply put, Andris has been a beast. For the last few seasons, Biedrins has struggled to find consistent minutes and was at the mercy of Don Nelson's small-ball whims. However, this year Biedrins is manning the pivot with intensity and is averaging a career high in PTS (16.6), REB (13.2), and BLKS (1.6). Biedrins has always had the potential for these kind of numbers, but his consistency this year is the key to his breakout, as evidenced by his 10 consecutive double-doubles to start the season.


BUSTS

1) Deron Williams PG UTAH - This one is quite obvious. This was the year Deron Williams was to take the next step to be considered with the elite point guards of the NBA, building upon his success in the playoffs last year and the Olympics this summer. However, Williams has been slowed by an ankle injury and reaggravated it by trying to come back too quickly, resulting in only two games of limited action thus far into the season. Although reports say that he will be fully healthy by the end of this week, Williams still has to be one of the biggest disappointments early this season.

2) Steve Nash PG PHX - We may finally be witnessing the slowdown of one of the fastest and most prolific point guards in recent history. While its hard to qualify per game averages of 14 pts and 8 ast as being a bust, coming off 4 seasons of double-digit assists, 8.1 apg is a dropoff. Nash's attempts from the field and the line have dropped off as well, leading to his lowest scoring output since 1999.

3) Kevin Garnett PF BOS - Similar to Nash, its hard to justify 16-8 as being disappointing, but it looks like age is catching up to the 32 year old Garnett as well. Coming off of an emotional season which gave him his first championship, KG's numbers have dropped off considerably. His points, rebounds, and assists numbers are the lowest they've been since his rookie season, and he is averaging a career low in blocks (1.1). After 14 seasons in the NBA, its hard to continue to expect superstar production from Garnett, but for those that drafted him in the first few rounds of fantasy basketball, these numbers are unsatisfactory.