Players that will exceed expectations

[dockingsched]

From reading the board throughout the off-season, to me it seems like expectations for players and the team as a whole are wide ranging and very little consensus exists.

To flush this out a little further, I figured it would be interesting to see who people think will surpass expectations this year. In addition to allowing posters to make a strong argument about who they believe is going to succeed this year, it'll also provide a window into how posters think specific players are perceived by the entire board.

For this thread, it would be great to see people post the 3 players they think are going to surprise this board and surpass the general expectations this board may have for these players.

Here's my 3 in no particular order:

1. Brandon Bass

- Not that anyone is particularly low on him, but to me there doesn't seem any real talk about him, he's become forgettable to the board imo. I think he's going to be one of those veteran glue guys that will continue to earn playing time and people will be talking about him as a core piece going forward. I predict that he'll become a fan favorite which will help mitigate some of the fan criticism that will arise when his play limits the amount of minutes Randle gets.

2. Lou Williams

- It seems like his addition was quickly criticized and no real excitement came from getting a 6th man of the year caliber player. While I probably agree with some of the head scratching that resulted from his signing, I think his role is going to be a lot bigger than people expect. I do expect Kobe to limit his minutes and miss games regularly, so someone is going to have to step into those minutes. In Kobe's absence and with the assumption that Nick Young continues to be in Scott's doghouse, Williams is going to basically be the only veteran wing scorer available for a lot of games. While he'll be criticized many a times for the shots he takes and subsequently takes away from Russell and Clarkson, i think his shots will for the most part be viewed as a necessary evil especially by the subgroup of fans that put making the playoffs above or on the same level of importance as developing the youth.

3. Larry Nance Jr

May be I'm gauging his expectations wrong, but it seems like almost everyone is really low on him ranging from don't think he should have been drafted ahead of others, to don't think he would have even been drafted at all. I think he's going to be the best rookie, Randle included, til at least the all star break. His game will translate the best since its based on good athleticism, high energy, and a focus on defense. He's going to be a fan favorite imo, even if it takes him a few weeks to crack the rotation.

[FrozenIceCubes]

I highly doubt Nance gets enough minutes to contribute. Bass I could see averaging 14/7.

Lou's soaring scoring ability hopefully makes Young sit in the dog house or traded in a dump move.

[john248]

Clarkson: I'm expecting improvements this season. He really needs to show that he can be a consistent catch and shoot guy if he wants to be effective with Russell on the court. Last season, he was poor in this area. Also, hopefully with more experience, he's able to make the extra pass and keep the ball moving rather than his only effective passes coming during a drive and dish situation. He was a ball holder, and this needs to be corrected.

Russell: Expect him to struggle, a lot. I do think he'll be an all-star caliber player, but that will be 3+ years from now. My guess is that after the all-star break, he'll start showing flashes of what his potential will be more often than not.

Randle: Needs work and is a bigger project than I had expected. I don't want to judge his defense yet, but he seems disinterested playing it. His jump shot is another year out, handles are a bit overrated at the NBA level still, and still needs to finish better at the rim. We're looking at an inefficient offensive player who's likely to be mediocre on defense. So on one hand, rookie like expectations but on the other looks more like a project player given how many different parts of his game needs improvement.

A. Brown & Nance: I don't see any playing time for either unless injuries force them into playing time. I expect both to struggle. Pretty much zeros offensively, and learning rotations and having a voice to communicate on defense then learning rotations has its own learning curve.

Hibbert & Bass: I hope both see 25 mpg, and I do think the defense will be much improve with them on the floor at the same time for the bulk of their minutes. And this is in spite of Byron Scott being a defensive idiot. Hibbert isn't ultra mobile, but he does have good knee bend to get low and use his length when caught in space. He will get beat at times, but his overall defensive impact will be positive. Bass is simply a vet who knows where to be on the floor defensively and has a solid jumper.

Williams: This signing wasn't all that exciting to me. I get why they did it given the cap and a team does end up with these mediocre type players since you can't really fill it out with scrubs like the Sixers do nor can you fill it with quality talent in an offseason or 2. Either he gets traded in the future due to his cap figure being relatively small later on or he just plays out his contract to go somewhere else.

Kobe: Then there's Kobe. Hands down my fav player of the last decade and a half even with all his B.S. He's pretty much Jerry Stackhouse now, and that's not good.

[Kilroy]

Randle - I think his size, strength, skill set, and drive are under rated. By Christmas he's going to be a handful.
Hibbert - He just needed a change of scenery. I think Randle will start next to him and they will compliment each other nicely
Kobe - He's not going to be the old Kobe, but I think he'll be better than expected. I think he'll use his knowledge to pick his spots and dominate certain matchups. He's going to win us some games.
Black - I think he'll earn some playing time and turn some heads... Not all-star good, but better than expected.

I think Clarkson is going to be good too, but not really better than expected. I think Russel is going to take a while to adapt to the pro season. Bass and Lou will be what they've always been... They will be good for us though, I'm just not sure they'll be better than most people expect.

Player to watch out for: Anthony Brown... I think if he earns some minutes, he might impress. He just needs to stay the hell away from Swaggy.

[dipstick]

1. Randle - Will surely exceed the expectations that a lot of us currently have. I really think that he has been unfairly judged based on his summer league play. Remember summer league? Games don't really matter and like the all-star game, defense is not really at a premium. Seemed to me like everyone was watching how Paul George would rebound from his own leg break, while we were expecting a rookie like Randle to show more maturity and play even better off the bat, which seems unfair. He was clearly over eager. Can't say that he will exceed our expectations of him when we drafted him last year, but I'm confident that he will have learned from his mistakes and shortcomings in Summer League.

2. Kobe - I know we saw a Kobe that jacked up 30 shots in some games last year, but there was a stretch where he also dished a lot of assists. I know that he's a competitor and he will want to take it upon himself to lift this Laker team on his shoulders. But I think that as wise as he is, he knows he won't be able to do that alone. Its his last season, and I expect more of the Kobe that looked for his teammates to score than himself. Of course, if like last year, no one steps up, he will start doing it himself. But I think, we really have more firepower than last year so he will get more help.

3. Hibbert - I think he is motivated enough to improve. He is still young and should not have peaked yet. A change of scenery is much needed.

4. Huertas - If he makes the roster, hopefully will prove to be a steady playmaker off the bench especially if DLo struggles in some games.

5. Nance and Brown - Just because we don't expect much from them. But the question mark here is if either gets much playing time.

[Beethoven]

Kobe is going to exceed my expectations of him. He always does somehow.

[tugs]

Thought we're going with only 3? Anyway:

The hype (and rightfully so) that our young trio is getting is really overshadowing the underrated additions that Mitch has done. These players will surely exceed anyone's expectations given how little impact their additions are being credited for.

Bass - can't ask for a pro who just does his job and play within his capabilities. We may be surprised he'll have dominating offensive games because of how effective he is and how much the attention will be towards the guard and wing players.

Huertas - to this point he's still a rookie yes, but his experience and smarts should be enough to find a niche in the roster. He won't do too much and will just be throwing around assists with how loaded this team is. Will surely provide stability when everything is in disarray.

Hibbert - said the right things but I'm not sold yet until he does it. With his lackluster play in Indy still fresh in our minds, anything positive he does will surely be surprising.

[Jody Smokz]

That means your expectations must have been rather low last year b/c he was terrible

Kobe is going to exceed my expectations of him. He always does somehow.

[dockingsched]

Kobe is going to exceed my expectations of him. He always does somehow.

He exceeded your expectations last season? Haha, you must think the worst of him

[Slava]

I can't see Randle exceeding any expectations this season. He's a much bigger work in progress than I had expected when we initially drafted him. Watching him play you get the impression that he doesn't understand how to play as part of a team and he's still stuck in his AAU climate where everything is focused to make the star player look better.

He doesn't set screens strongly so the entire pick and roll game is a new science to him, he severely lacks an off hand and his shot is still ways to go. The raw tools are there, especially with his strength and agility to finish plays but he needs a lot of coaching to iron out the creases and make him efficient and effective.

If I were him I'd stick to crashing the boards hard and cutting, running the break to get points, like Kenneth Faried before he is ready to take on a bigger role. He will frustrate the hell out of fans for a good couple seasons.

[dipstick]

Thought we're going with only 3? .

Oops.

[ArC_man]

1) Nick Young
2) Clarkson
3) Randle

[Mrewn]

I think if he gets mins Anthony brown is gonna surprise a lot of people.

[BEazy]

1. Hibbert
2. Clarkson
3. Nick Young/Lou Williams

[djericho]

I had to think about it because as "spoiled Lakers fan" I have apparently high expectations, so no one should exceed my expectations.

Playoffs baby!!! but I digress..

that said, Sacre and Kelly will get 5 mins a night, avg 2 pts, 1 reb.. that'd be exceeding expectations

[dipstick]

that said, Sacre and Kelly will get 5 mins a night, avg 2 pts, 1 reb.. that'd be exceeding expectations

For me that would be exceeding expectations because I'm expecting them (or maybe just really hoping) that they get cut.

[EArl]

Nick young, Lou Williams and Russell

[TylersLakers]

I will go..

A) Jordan Clarkson: Will be the most consistent player on this team all season, hands down. I'm not sure if he'll be "borderline All Star" but he'll be somewhere around that. 17 PPG, 4 APG, 4 RPG.

B) Kobe Bryant: He'll play around 60 games and he'll adjust his game based off what the team needs. He'll do that almost nightly. But, based off last season, he'll be more efficient. 21 PPG, 5 RPG, 6 APG, 43% FG

C) Michael Frazier: By the end of the season, he'll be a valuable contributor off the bench. He'll be a knockdown three point shooter for us when he catches his rhythm (and more minutes) around December/January.

[LApwnd]

1. Williams- will be a solid backup guard
2. Huertas- could be a solid teacher/mentor to russell
3. Bass- will likely start and put up respectable # like J. Hill did in the beginning.

[ALL HAIL]

It'd be cool if someone elaborated on and established the baseline expectation of each player.

Then, the question could be answered in a more concentrated, yet thorough, manner.