Ten players who have been exceeding expectations

We want to glide into the new year nicely, so this first five-pack of 2007 singles out players, five from each conference, who are overachieving, or, at least, playing above what some people thought they might, at least one of those people being me. This doesn't mean they are bad players playing well; in particular, I don't want one of them -- identified later -- to get mad at me. Note that I have left out rookies: Who really knows what to expect from them?

Eastern Conference

Tyronn Lue, Atlanta Hawks. He's kind of dropped off the radar screen -- that's what happens when you go from the championship '01 Lakers to Washington to Orlando to Houston and to the death zone known as Atlanta -- but he's averaging 14.7 points a game (through Wednesday) as an off-the-bench scoring spark for the Hawks. Not that the Hawks raise many sparks, but you know what I mean.

Mo Williams, Milwaukee Bucks. Every time I see this guy play, he looks like one of the best guards in the league. I know he doesn't do it every night -- otherwise, the Bucks would be better than a .500 club -- but he's averaging 17.8 points on a team with Michael Redd and sticks his nose into the action, as his rebounding average of 5.5 attests.

Caron Butler, Washington Wizards. Everybody knew the fifth-year veteran (who is with his third team) could play. But on this year's model of the offensive-minded Wizards, he's getting 20.7 points per game and shooting 49.5 percent from the field, along with averaging 8.1 rebounds. And don't put him at the line -- the small forward makes 87.7 percent of his free throws.

Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls. A solid player who suddenly is shooting the ball like Rick Mount. (Attention younger readers: Google Rick Mount.) Admittedly benefiting from defensive attention on Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, the forward out of Duke is shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. He's a rarity these days, too -- a deadly medium-range shooter who doesn't even think about the three-point line (he's 0-for-2 for the season).

Trevor Ariza, Orlando Magic. The former Knick, heretofore known mostly as a leaper, has found himself in coach Brian Hill's nine-man rotation. He's exactly what a bench player should be, a tough competitor who will do the dirty work but who is also shooting 55 percent from the floor, much better than his career mark of .431 entering the season.

Western Conference

Mickael Pietrus, Golden State Warriors. Of course, you're going to score more when Don Nelson is your coach, so Pietrus' 14.3 points per game, substantially more than the 8.1 he put up in his previous three seasons, is understandable. But, like his French countryman Boris Diaw of Phoenix, he has a great grasp of the game and is tough-minded.

Corey Maggette, Los Angeles Clippers. This is a little bit of a stretch since Maggette has twice averaged more than 20 points in his seven-year career. But in a rotation in which he gets less playing time than not just Elton Brand but also Cuttino Mobley, Shaun Livingston and Chris Kaman, Maggette's 15.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 26.7 minutes look pretty good. His sometimes questionable shot selection still, evidently, grates on coach Mike Dunleavy.

Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns. The Brazilian Blur is by no means unknown around the NBA, but he seems to recede every year in the hubbub surrounding Steve Nash and, increasingly, Raja Bell. But Barbosa, a candidate for the NBA's Sixth Man Award, has improved in every area of the game (he's averaging 4.3 assists and 1.1 steals) and has become so much more than just a jolt of electricity to the Suns' high-octane offense.

Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings. At some point, I suppose, we just say, This kid's really good, and let it go at that. But can you say All-Star? The third-year guard is averaging 21.2 points on 50 percent shooting and knocks down 91.1 percent of his free throws. He's so good that Ron Artest has sometimes ridden the bench down the stretch.

Brent Barry, San Antonio Spurs. He's the Spurs' forgotten man, and he always seems to be on the trading block. But Barry, who just turned 35, suddenly seems reborn in his sixth-man role. He's shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 49.1 percent from three-point range, exactly what the Spurs need to clear some space for Tim Duncan underneath. But don't tell him I called him an "overachiever" -- this is his 12th season.

Jack McCallum is the author of "Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns," a behind-the-scenes account of the Suns' 2005-06 season. Click here to order a copy.