Kansas Crimson

Devonte’ Graham, Charlotte Hornets

If Graham were a Laker or Knick, he would be heralded as a messianic figure. Because he’s a Hornet, he’s instead compared at every turn to former Charlotte mainstay Kemba Walker, or Walker’s would-be replacement Terry Rozier. Graham may have usurped that title before Rozier ever had a chance to claim it. Although the two start and play together in the Hornets’ micro backcourt, it’s Graham—who didn’t even look like an NBA player as a rookie last season—who now leads the team by most every reasonable measure. It took just two years for Graham to go from a second-round pick to the engine for a modern offense. Only two other players have created more points by way of assists this season, and only Harden has made more 3s. You really cannot overstate that sort of transformation. Graham has completely changed the course of his career and emerged as exactly the kind of breakthrough talent the Hornets were desperate to find.

[...]

Ben McLemore, Houston Rockets

In his seventh season in the league, McLemore has finally moved from being effective in theory to effective in reality. It was never difficult for NBA teams to talk themselves into the McLemore as an idea; in controlled, isolated circumstances, he could look like the exact sort of athletic, range-shooting wing that excels in the modern game. In action, however, McLemore would too often lose his bearings and fall between the cracks of possessions. Working alongside Harden has given McLemore just the sort of structure he needed, and he’s raised the level of his play in kind. The new and improved McLemore is altogether more solid — the kind of player who, in eight spot starts this season, could average 17.4 points per game while shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. Houston, in particular, always seems to be in need of wings who can hold down a role. McLemore has made himself into the kind of player who could.