Cody Zeller, after playing all 82 games in his rookie season, played just 62 in his sophomore campaign after a shoulder sprain he suffered from in early March cut his season short, but he still managed to show drastic improvements on both sides of the flo

Zeller, after playing all 82 games in his rookie season, played just 62 in his sophomore campaign after a shoulder sprain he suffered from in early March cut his season short, but he still managed to show drastic improvements on both sides of the floor in 2014-15. Zeller finished the season with averages of 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game.

Analysis:

There were a lot of questions surrounding Zeller as he entered his second NBA season, as most weren't sold on Zeller's ability to be a legitimate power forward in the league. He still struggled scoring the ball through most of the season, but he was consistently aggressive on the boards and a solid defender in the post who was agile enough to move across the floor. The highlight of Zeller's season was his career night where he managed a career-high 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds in 33 minutes in a win against the Celtics. Additionally, just before he went down with the shoulder injury, Zeller put together a six-game stretch where he scored in double figures in every outing and averaged 12.2 points and 7.3 rebounds over that stretch. So, while Zeller was not consistently effective this past season, he did show quite a bit of promise. Zeller, however, is not set in stone as the team's power forward of the future, as rookie power forward Noah Vonleh also showed promise towards the end of the season. Both bring great size and athleticism, and with the two of them likely to both be on the team for the next couple of seasons, it'll be interesting to see who emerges as the favorite to hold the position for the foreseeable future. If Zeller wishes to outlast Vonleh, he will need to work on his jump shot, something Vonleh already has in his arsenal, and Zeller has said he has been practicing stretching his game out to the three-point line and is becoming more comfortable on the outside.