10. D.J. Augustin, Bobcats
The key to Augustin's recent offensive output (he's averaging 17 ppg over his past eight games) is not that he's an excellent outside shooter but that he's able to get to the rim and finish. Smaller guards who struggle around the rim can be pressed into driving by hot closeouts, forcing them to take shots they can't make or into turnovers because defenses take away their kickout options by not offering help.
But Augustin takes a quarter of his shots near the rim and finishes over 50 percent of them, helping him to establish a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Defenses need to help on his drives, which gives him open kickout lanes.
Yay rookie!!
