There are two sides to every coin, so let’s turn something I mentioned last week on its head. In Friday’s column, I took great pains to point out the despicable state of the East this season. However, the other way to look at the state of the NBA this year is that the West has become hellaciously, unbelievably good. Entering Tuesday’s games, 11 of the West’s 15 teams were .500 or better, and only Memphis, at 3–10, wasn’t within spitting distance of the break-even mark.

Take a closer look and it’s not hard to see why the Western teams are exceeding expectations. Although the East may have the big-name young talents like LeBron and Wade, pretty much every breakout star in the early part of the season has been in the Western Conference. That’s helped several of the middle-of-the-pack teams get off to much stronger starts than expected, contributing greatly to the West’s dominance thus far.

Today, I thought we’d take a closer look at these players, none of whom are household names yet, but all of whom might be in another 12 months:

KEVIN MARTIN, SACRAMENTO: Every player on this list is having a breakout year, but Martin is a breakout with an explanation point. The third-year guard has helped keep the Kings afloat despite injuries to Brad Miller and Ron Artest by averaging 24.9 points a game, but even more impressive is his insane efficiency.

Despite an unorthodox shooting motion — he starts the ball on his hip and leans to his left as he shoots — Martin is shooting 54.5% from the field, 49.0% on 3-pointers, and 91.1% from the freethrow line. That’s allowed him to pile up his point totals on fewer than 15 shot attempts per game, helping rank 8th in the entire NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (PER, my measure of a player’s per-minute statistical effectiveness) — right between Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.

J.R. SMITH, DENVER: Questions about his attitude led both the Hornets and Bulls to give Smith away in the offseason. But unloading young, talented guys who can score is rarely a good way to do business, and his two former clubs are learning why.

Smith has filled the Nuggets glaring need for a 3-point shooter, nailing 37.6% while taking nearly eight a game. Plus, he’s been much more than a long-range specialist. His ability to run the floor and finish has added another gear to one of the league’s fastest-paced teams, and the easy baskets have helped him average 17.9 points per game.

ANDRIS BIEDRINS, GOLDEN STATE: New Warriors coach Don Nelson has never been fond of playing a “true” center, but the rapidly blossoming Biedrins has him changing his tune. Nelly abandoned his smallball lineup after one game and inserted the Latvian lefty into the mix, where he’s taken over as the starting center.

Biedrins is an incredibly efficient finisher around the basket, shooting 65.7% from the floor after making 63.8% a year earlier. He’s averaging a double-double with nearly three blocks per game, and has cemented his rep as one of the game’s best young bigs with an 18-point, 15-rebound, six-block effort in the Warriors’ win over the mighty Spurs on Monday.

MONTA ELLIS, GOLDEN STATE: While Biedrins has solidified the Warrior front line, Ellis has shored up the backcourt. A second-round draft pick two years ago after turning pro straight from high school, Ellis has exploded in his sophomore season after rarely playing as a rookie. Injuries to Jason Richardson and Baron Davis have allowed him to wedge his way into the starting lineup, and it’s going to be tough to yank him out after he’s rolled up 17.7 points per game and an assortment of highlight-film finishes on the break.

ZACH RANDOLPH, PORTLAND: Slowed by the lingering effects of microfracture knee surgery, Portland’s big man labored to a career-low 43.6% shooting mark for a horrid Blazers team last season. This year, the Blazers are much more competitive — just ask the Nets — and Randolph has been the key. With his wide body, feathery midrange touch, and surprising knack for scoring off the dribble, the southpaw is averaging 25.1 points and 10.2 boards for one of the league’s most improved teams. Better yet, he’s even passing out of double-teams once in a while.

ANDREW BYNUM, LAKERS: Drafted as a project a year ago, Bynum is delivering returns much sooner than expected. Injuries to Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown allowed him to open the year as the starting center, and it might be a decade before he loses the job. Bynum’s efforts have been a bit up and down because of his youth — he’s only 19 — but his size, soft hands and passing instincts all point to long-range success. Not that he’s chopped liver now — he’s averaging 16.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per 40 minutes, and he’s shooting 52.7% from the floor.

HAKIM WARRICK, MEMPHIS: The silver lining to Pau Gasol’s injury has been allowing the Grizzlies to see what they have in Warrick. The former Syracuse star didn’t see a lot of action as a rookie, but in his second season is putting up 14.5 points per game on 50% shooting from the floor. While he still has the high-flying finishing skills he displayed with the Orangemen, the difference as a pro is that he’s become a much more consistent mid-range shooter. That’s helped Memphis stay quasicompetent without Gasol and Eddie Jones.

DERON WILLIAMS, UTAH: A big reason behind the Jazz’s league-leading start has been the dynamic play of their second-year point guard. Williams had a middling rookie season after the Jazz chose him ahead of Chris Paul in the 2005 draft, prompting loud criticism of the Utah front office.

Those critiques cooled off after Williams showed up this season in possession of an extra gear he didn’t have a year ago. After a rookie year mostly confined to perimeter shooting, Williams has been a much more aggressive and effective penetrator, allowing him to double his assist average to 9.0 per game while pumping in 17.1 points a night. The signature moment came in the final seconds of a recent game against Boston, when Williams took an inbound pass and raced upcourt, dishing to Matt Harpring for a game-winning lay-up just moments after Boston had tied it up.

jhollinger@nysun.com