Well, as a member of the Melting Pot staff and a contributor here, my guy NYSTOM is at it again. He has put together his Rookie Report thus far and projected this out to prognosticate who will be receiving the Rookie of the Year Award. All I have to say is that he's a strong guy and opinionated so I'll have to let him stand with his calls. Here it is, and I'm sure this will provide many with material to go at him.
We'll start off with the easiest one (in my mind),............
1. Derrick Rose - CHI (18.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.6 apg, 46.8 fg%, 38.3 mpg)
To me this is heads and shoulders pick for ROY of the year so far. Yes, there have been people that may have scored more (Mayo, Beasley), but this guy is THE main cog for a bad Bulls team. He brings it every night and produces. He's already working on his jumper, and if that becomes a weapon, the sky is the limit for him.
2. Ryan Anderson - NJN (9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .6 apg, 56.7 fg%, 16.6 mpg)
Anderson has shown, in limited time that those California guys (Leon Powe included) can't be slept on. He has played well and had a career night (yeah, any night is a career night when you're a rookie) against the Hawks with 17 points and 5 boards (4-5 fg, 6-6 free throws, including 3 three pointers).
3. JaVale McGee - WAS (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .2 apg, 53.8 fg%, 19.8 mpg)
The Washington Wizards are hurting right now with injuries, but this is giving McGee a chance to play. Many thought he would have been the first person chosen had he had that 'killer' in him and a work ethic to go along. To go along with those stats above he's averaging a little more than a block per game. Brenden Haywood is probably on his way out the door in Washington, so McGee could be the Wizards center of the future.
4. Jason Thompson - SAC (11.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 58.3 fg%, 24.7 mpg)
One of the sleepers of the draft, Thompson has delivered for a very bad Sacramento Kings team. He's getting on the floor and he's able to score in the paint but the thing that helps him is his legs. The guy runs the floor like a faster version of Chris Webber. In that up and down style that the Kings play this guy is going to put up his numbers. Good solid rookie who's got some room to grow.
5. Michael Beasley - MIA (16.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 45.7 fg%, 34.2 mpg)
In my mind the guy the Bulls should have picked, but that's old news. Right now Beasley is helping the Heat stay above water and respectable. He is able to score inside and outside at will and has even shown that he can play defense at some point in his career. Right now he's getting more playing time with the Matrix out, but they seem to but the same type of player right now. Beasley will continue to put up numbers and I think will definitely move up this list as the season ages.
What are your thoughts? Did NYSTOM leave anyone off this list? Let him know.
4 comments:
@ NYSTOM
I'm going to be the first to tell you that you are crazy. This makes no sense. I'm not a Mayo fan, but he didn't even make the list? Dayum!!!
This is what happens when "stat" guys who don't watch games try and analyze players.
C'mon now, where do I begin?
Anderson is a nice Linas Kleiza type sub who can shoot. But he ain't the 2nd best rook, not in a million years.
OJ Mayo looks and plays like an 8 year vet. Dude dropped 26 in a HALF last week. You can't possibly overlook 21ppg on 45%FG. If he had someone other than Rudy Gay who could score on his team, he'd be Derrick Rose.
Marc Gasol is probably getting the benefit of good stats on a bad team, but he isn't half bad.
Russell Westbrook isn't helping the Thunder win any games, but he's good.
The Kings' Bobby Brown has a terrible name, but the guy can ball.
Golden State's Anthony Morrow had a flukish 37 point game, but for an undrafted FA, he isn't bad.
DJ Augustin will steal Ray Felton's starting gig and mins very soon.
I've watched Beasley enough to figure him out. He's going to be another Jamal Mashburn: a guy who puts up nice numbers but doesn't make an impact.
Mario Chalmers is no slouch either.
JaVale McGee might end up being the steal of the draft. The guy's athleticism for a 7-2 player is something I haven't seen since a younger Tyson Chandler. He is scoring off lobs and pure hops. He is clueless on defense, but he's talented enough to eventually figure this out.
Right now, he's an awesome athlete who doesn't know jack about basketball, but you can teach that stuff. You can't teach 7-2 with a 38 inch vertical.
I appreciate your validation of my McGee pick. The guy is a pleasure to watch play. Too bad he's on the Wiz.
Maybe it'll make you feel better to know that the next three on my list would have been Gasol, Mayo, and Rudy Fernandez.
By the way, Mayo's worse-than-average shooting percentage on a bad team didn't do him any favors.
@ AB
Mashburn never made an impact? Aren't you a Hornets fan from the Charlotte days? Didn't he carry that team for a while until he got hurt? Beasley will be what he is, a scorer who can do it from anywhere on the floor. He'll learn defense, but even Bill Self (yes a college coach) that he'd rather have a guy who knows how to score, because he can teach him defense. But it's harder to teach a kid how to score.
Mayo is just benefitting from having the green light on a bad team. Nuff said.
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