Draftnation's Zach Bowers is keeping his eye on the NBA rookies and gives us his Top Five Rookie of the Year canidates and his "Impact Three" rookies.
Top 5:
- Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls- Rose has been a shot of energy for the Bulls offense all season long. This past week he struggled, but that is what happens when you're a rookie. He is putting up 18 points a game to go with 5.5 assists per game on a bad Chicago offense (26th in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency at 98.3).
- Rudy Fernandez, SG, Portland Trailblazers- Fernandez is a key player off the bench for the Blazers and he is throwing down threes (2.3 3PM per game) to provide a big scoring boost off the bench. How efficiently Fernandez has scored is why he is this high on our rookie rankings (44 FG% and 44 3P%).
- OJ Mayo, SG, Memphis Grizzlies- Look at these numbers: OJ Mayo 08/09- 38.5 Min Per game, 20.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 STL, 44% FG. Kevin Durant 07/08- 34.6 Min per game, 20.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 STL, 43% FG. A match-up between Durant and Mayo is at least something exciting to watch for when Memphis plays Oklahoma City on Nov 29th.
- Michael Beasley, PF, Miami Heat- Beasley still isn't getting to the hoop very often and is settling for jump shots, but is still scoring 15 PPG to go along with 5.5 RPG. However, in his last two games he only got 16 and 12 minutes respectively so he is going to need to stay on the court in order to avoid falling down the list.
- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, PF/SF, Milwaukee Bucks- Last week Mbah a Moute was in our Impact Three section, but has moved up into the Top 5 after becoming a starter in Milwaukee and playing very well for the team. He is averaging 7.2 RPG and 10.5 PPG and is Milwaukee's best defender. He continues to out play lottery pick Joe Alexander and Mbah a Moute is yet another great 2nd round draft pick by Milwaukee.
Impact Three
The Impact Three are players that probably won't win Rookie of the Year, but are making an impact on their respective teams.
1. JaVale Mcgee, C, Washington Wizards- With injuries to Brendan Haywood and an otherwise weak frontcourt Mcgee is emerging as a contributor for the Wizards. He has ridiculous atheletic ability and is one bright spot in a horrible start for the Wizards
2. Anthony Morrow, SG, Golden State Warriors- Morrow has played fantastically for the Warriors, scoring 17 PPG and grabbing 4 RPG. Unfortunately the Warriors just traded Al Harrington for Jamal Crawford who will probably steal some of Morrow's minutes. Hopefully Morrow will continue to earn significant minutes because the undrafted rookie has been a great surprise this season.
3. Brook Lopez, C, New Jersey Nets- B. Lopez is getting more minutes now after Josh Boone went down with an injury and is making the most of his minutes. In his last three games he is averaging 15 PPG and 9.7 RPG.
