Many fans don’t put much stock in the NBA preseason for some reason, and it’s something that I’ve always found puzzling.
Like any good book, the preseason can provide a table of contents for the upcoming season with many interesting details and storylines. For me, it’s always about development and which players are in the right situations at the right time. On top of that, it’s seeing if they know that situation and if they are prepared to own it.
I’ve taken a look around the league and paid close attention to certain players who are already taking full advantage of these opportunities who are ready to break out once the ball goes up in the air for real.
Here are a few:
Andre Drummond, F-C, Detroit Pistons
BREAKDOWN: Many have the Pistons taking a major step forward in the standings, and they are betting on Drummond 
to have a big season. I really like what I’ve seen from the second-year player out of Connecticut who has developed much faster than I thought he would, especially offensively.
Drummond’s hands and feet have improved greatly and he is getting opportunities around the basket at an impressive rate thus far this preseason. He even has made 12-of-21 free throws after sinking just 37 percent last season. If Drummond can improve his range to 10 feet, he will be an easy double-double guy and one of the rising bigs in the entire league if he isn’t there already.
(RELATED: PISTONS SEASON PREVIEW)
Anthony Davis, F-C, New Orleans Pelicans
BREAKDOWN: What you have to love about Davis has been his aggressiveness early and his willingness to showcase a broadening skill set. Davis will certainly benefit from an Eric Gordon/Jrue Holiday backcourt as well as the Pelicans’ addition of Anthony Morrow, who along with Ryan Anderson will help create some space from the perimeter.
Pelicans coach Monty Williams has made it known that Davis is their featured guy in the offense, and the second-year man out of Kentucky has shown the addition of a pick-and-pop game to his superior finishing ability, averaging 23.2 points in the preseason. We know what a stalwart Davis is on defense. He appears poised to show he is one of the best two-way bigs in the game.
(RELATED: PELICANS SEASON PREVIEW)
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
BREAKDOWN: The Wizards are going to be improved this season, and Beal will be the reason why. The smooth 
shooting guard appears to be the perfect complement to point man John Wall and has shown the ability to utilize the bounce to create more scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. He is averaging 19.5 points on 47 percent shooting in the preseason.
Like most young guards, Beal is much more comfortable on the left side of the floor with the ball. But his scoring zones are expanding, and with that will come more decisions and opportunities. What the Wizards lack is a strong presence inside, which forces the guards to have to carry the scoring load. That seems to suit Beal just fine. If he can continue to make plays with the ball going to the basket, he will be averaging 20 points per game in no time.
(RELATED: WIZARDS SEASON PREVIEW)
James Harden, G, Houston Rockets
BREAKDOWN: I know, I know. Way to go out on a limb, Tommy. But here’s the thing. You simply cannot talk enough about how good this guy is. He goes to his left strong side with such ease, it looks like the league hasn’t figured out he is lefthanded. He gets to the basket from the top of the key without a screen as well as any player in the NBA. On Wednesday vs. Orlando, he had the ball on a string all game and knocked down four 3-pointers.
The Rockets are going to be dominant this season barring injuries because they can get production from Dwight Howard and prime shooting from guys such as Chandler Parsons and Cisco Garcia. But they will close out games in crunch time because Harden is so good.
(RELATED: ROCKETS SEASON PREVIEW)
Tim Hardaway Jr., G, New York Knicks
BREAKDOWN: I loved the pick in June because of Hardaway’s offensive skill set. Thus far in the preseason, Hardaway
is quickly showing coach Mike Woodson he is ready for prime time. Defensively and physically, Hardaway is very much a work in progress but is very advanced offensively at this stage. The Knicks appeared full at the wing positions, but Hardaway may get a big chance with an apparent elbow injury to Iman Shumpert and the injury/suspension to J.R. Smith.
Hardaway’s pedigree speaks for itself, but the ease in which he fills up the hoop is something I wasn’t expecting to see right away. He has veteran savvy and is quickly earning the trust of alpha dog Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks led the world in 3-point attempts last season and may miss the departed Steve Novak, Jason Kidd and Chris Copeland in that regard. But if Hardaway continues to hit them the way he has in preseason (10-of-25, 13.0 ppg) he will find a rotation spot.
(RELATED: KNICKS SEASON PREVIEW)
Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic
BREAKDOWN: While his preseason numbers don’t exactly jump out at you (11 ppg, 6.8 rpg), I really think Vucevic is ready to take a major step forward this season. Watching him single-cover Dwight Howard on Tuesday night in Houston – pretty effectively I might add – it really appears Vucevic is starting to add more physicality to his game. He is a skilled offensive player, but he is going to need to get his opportunities on the glass and around the rim if he’s going to get more 20-point games this season, which he is certainly capable of doing.
Vucevic came on very strong at the end last season, averaging 18.5 points on 50 percent shooting in April to raise his season average to just over 13 points. If he can maintain that consistency and get himself some easy buckets by putting in the work on the boards, the Magic will boast one of the good, young physical bigs in the game.
(RELATED: MAGIC SEASON PREVIEW)
Tommy Dee is the director of business development for CHARGED.fm and was founder and executive editor of SNY’s The Knicks Blog from 2008-2013. He has contributed his college scouting notes to Sheridan Hoops and Hoopsworld as well as several NBA teams. He is also a contributor to SB Nation’s Ridiculous Upside.