This year’s rookie class continues to be the strongest
in years. The battle for ROY appears as though it will come down to Rose vs
Mayo.
1. |
| Derrick Rose I just finished watching Rose’s block/crossover of Andre Miller on Youtube for the 138th time. Those two plays said it all. The only thing slowing Rose down these days are knives left on the bed! | |||||||
2. |
| OJ Mayo Go figure. Marc Iavaroni publicly requests that his stars Gay and Mayo get others involved in the offense more, and Mayo’s scoring average goes up. And he’s maintaining his efficiency: Considering those rookies that have taken 100 FG attempts or more, Mayo ranks 7th in shooting percentage (2nd among guards) | |||||||
3. |
| Michael Beasley The Big Three has (for now) become the Big Two. Rose and Mayo have put some distance between themselves and their high-profiled counterpart, who is averaging less than 12 points per game in his last four, all non-starts. | |||||||
4. |
| George Hill Perhaps no rookie meant more to his team over the past three weeks than George Hill. In that time span, the Spurs have gone 6-2 with Hill averaging 12 points per game. On November 26th, he put up 19 points and 11 rebounds, outplaying Derrick Rose in a ten-point win over the Bulls. | |||||||
5. |
| Rudy Fernandez Fernandez has become a 3-point specialist for the Blazers, and his numbers across the board continue to drop. His streak of 20 consecutive games with a 3-pointer to begin his career ended in the Blazers’ loss to the Celtics, but he bounced back going 3-4 from beyond the arc and scoring 16 points in a win over Toronto. | |||||||
6. |
| Marc Gasol For all the hype and attention that Oden gets, Gasol has quietly been the best/most consistent rookie center. He has a few factors working in his favor – age, experience, lack of pressure – but he’s adjusted well to the NBA game and is playing better than anyone expected. His nearly 80% from the line is a huge plus. | |||||||
7. |
| Brook Lopez Lopez has done a great job filling it at center for injured starter Josh Boone. He hasn’t just performed well individually (8 out of his last 10 games in double figures); the Nets have one 9 of their last 12 and are currently 2nd in the Atlantic Division. Boone is back, but Lopez’ minutes should be secure. | |||||||
8. |
| Greg Oden His inconsistency has been, well, rookie-like. In his last 8 games, he’s had four double-doubles. In the other four, he’s totaled ten points. He’s a different player every other game. A big reason for his night-and-day performances is his inability to stay on the court. He fouled out in 18 minutes in a loss to the Celtics and played only 11 minutes against Dwight Howard and Orlando. | |||||||
9. |
| Mario Chalmers After slipping to the 2nd round on draft night, Chalmers’ campaign to prove the doubters wrong has gone off without a hitch thus far. He leads all rookies in steals (6th in the League) while sitting at 2nd in assists and third in minutes. Of the two rookies for the Miami Heat, he is the only one still starting. Furthermore, the Heat are 3 games over .500, and while 98% of the credit for that belongs to Dwyane Wade, Chalmers’ ability to step in and contribute right away has been very important for the East’s biggest surprise to date. | |||||||
10. |
| Marreese Speights There are plenty other deserving rookies that could have gotten this spot, but Speights has been one of the few bright spots for the underachieving Sixers. In his limited time, he’s played very well: He is 6th among rookies in points per 48 minutes. And the Sixers are simply better with him on the court. In the 4 games that Speights has played more than 20 minutes, the Sixers are 4-0. Hopefully, someone within the Philly organization reads this and gives him more minutes. |
On the Radar:
– Russell Westbrook: His numbers are there, but can his team win a game first?
– DJ Augustin: Been playing well lately, but 41% from the field bad for a PG.
– Jason Thompson: Totaled 15 points in last four games. Kings went 1-3.
– Anthony Morrow: Crawford had to get somebody’s minutes.
– Kevin Love: Win or lose, Coach Kevin loves his rookie.
MasterSpeight
Speights is going to get a chance to get some legit run with Brand out for a month, it will be interesting to see what he can do with his minutes.
Where is the Love?
I have to disagree, first of all, Marc Gasol should be above Rudy Fernandez, and Love should be up there rather than Speights. Love has performed well for Minnesota, giving them 8.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Speights has barely played, and for good reason. Love, however, is counted on by Minnesota, a team that already has Al Jefferson ahead of him. Marc Gasol is a steady scorer on a team that has two legitimate stars ahead of him (Gay, Mayo) and is also a defensive presence underneath (1 block, 4.7 defensive rebounds per game, and 7.83 defensive rebounds per 48 minutes) whereas Fernandez frequently gets beaten on the defensive end and his only real skill is his jumpshot. His dribbling and driving are subpar, so what he could end up being one day is a Jason Kapono/Sasha Vujacic type player.
Rose
Mayo
Beasley
Hill
Gasol
Fernandez
Lopez
Oden
Chalmers
Love
Love Point Taken
Point taken. Love has put up decent numbers in terms of points and rebounds per game. Factors I took into consideration before deciding that Speights deserves some recognition at the bottom of this list:
1. Love is playing more minutes on a team that is going nowhere fast, so his numbers are bound to be inflated. It’s far easier to put up numbers for a team with no goals and no pressure to win. Although Jefferson is ahead of him, Love will play 25-30 minutes a night and get numbers. But taking playing time into consideration, Speights has produced more in limited time.
2. Speights’ percentages are a lot better than Love’s: 49% to 39% from the field, and 81% to 74% from the line.
3. Winning is what it’s all about, and when Speights gets minutes, his team wins.
I’m not saying Speights is a better player now or will be better in the long run; I just think he’s done more to warrant recognition than Love has midway through December.
Good Call
That makes sense. I don’t see Speights as a better player than Love now or ever, but after taking closer look into both of their statistics, Speights has been performing slightly better as well as playing on a much better team. However, Rudy Fernandez still does not deserve to be higher than Marc Gasol, as I stated above.
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