Last week, we took a look at the NBA MVP race’s standings. This week we turn to the league’s freshman class to assess which players are in the race for the Rookie of the Year award.
NBA Rookie Power Rankings: Blake Griffin, John Wall Top Freshman Class
As it turns out, there isn’t much of a race.
Griffin is No. 1 with a belt of bullets slung over his shoulder and a Tommy gun on his hip. Blake’s highlights are already legend; I’m fully convinced the Clippers TV and radio announcers owe some share of their future earnings to Griffin, because he has effectively given them a canvas and a box full of the finest oil paints. I imagine Ralph Lawler painstakingly pouring over his thesaurus, looking for a synonym of “awesome” that rhymes “holy s--t!”
Griffin is currently averaging 20.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. The last rookie to average 20-10 was Elton Brand in 1999-2000. Only 19 have ever accomplished the feat, and of those 14 are in or are locks to be voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In any other season, Wall would be on top of every rookie list. He’s averaged 16.7 points and 8.9 assists per game so far, despite battling injury and crummy teammates. His shooting percentages aren’t there, but that’s expected for rookie guards, especially ones with as much pressure on them as Wall has in D.C.
Only three rookies in NBA history have averaged more than Wall's 8.9 assists a game: Mark Jackson (No. 3 on the NBA's all-time assist list), Oscar Robertson and Damon Stoudamire. We're going to ignore the last fella and assume this means Wall will be Dougieing his way into the upper crust of NBA point guards very soon.
3. Landry Fields, Knicks
New York chose Stanford product Fields to guffaws and chortles in the second round; the Knicks have had the last laugh, at least if you’re assuming Fields will keep this up. Landry might just be the best rebounding small forward in the entire NBA, and he’s a decent scorer as a roleplayer. He’s efficient, plays hard and doesn’t waste his time on the court. Great catch by Donnie Walsh and the Knicks front office.
4. Derrick Favors, Nets
Favors has been solid for New Jersey -- not a superstar-in-the-flesh like Griffin or Wall, but a rock with promise. If he could get and stay on the floor, he'd be a double-double threat every night; he's currently averaging 12/10 per 36 minutes, but just 19 minutes per game. Foul trouble is part of that, as is Avery Johnson's thirst for wins and dependence on Kris Humphries, an energy guy who isn't very polished but plays hard every second.
Can Favors ever catch Griffin to become the best big man of this rookie class? If he does, it'll be because his coach -- whether that's Johnson, George Karl or someone else -- allows him to blossom on the court, and it will be because he has become a real defensive force. The tools are all there. It's just going to take time.
Cousins has famously had his struggles in Sacramento, both on and off the court. But he’s had some big games, including a 17-points, 7-rebound night in Houston on Tuesday. He’s broken 10 points in four of his last six games, and in three of those scored 15 or more. In those six games, he’s shooting 44 percent, which isn’t great, but is a lot better than the 40 percent he’s at on the season.
Like Favors, it’s going to take Cousins some time to assess what he can and cannot do at the NBA level. In the meantime, the Kings have to be ever vigilant that he doesn’t lose track of his conditioning program or temper. That’s the biggest argument against management changes in Sacramento: chaos could give Cousins too wide a berth in the organization. He needs to be controlled and pushed toward success, not allowed to bloom.
Others receiving votes:
* Gary Neal, Spurs. Upset of the indeterminate time period: Neal, not vaunted Tiago Splitter or James Anderson, has been San Antonio's most reliable rookie. Neal isn't playing much (16 minutes per game), but his deadeye shooting has helped the Spurs run out to the Western Conference lead.
* Eric Bledsoe, Clippers. Bledsoe receives 57 bonus votes for having to put up with Donald Sterling, really crummy teammates and the fact that Vinny Del Negro probably calls him Aaron.
* Xavier Henry, Grizzlies. Congratulations, Xavier! Not only have you taught Michael Heisley a lesson about the collective bargaining agreement and How The World Works, you have also somehow made O.J. Mayo worthless by shooting 43 percent from the floor as a starting two-guard.
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