NBA Rookie Of The Year Rankings

Note: This a a biased opinion of the top rookies in the NBA for the 2009-2010 season. If you think that you deserve to be higher on the list do not take it personal. As an NBA fan, I enjoy the play of all you rookie players and it was a tall task choosing one of you to put at the top of my list.

1. Stephen Curry- Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry has been everything that the Warriors could want and more. He is currently the leader among rookies in assists at 5.9. He is second in scoring at 16.9 and ninth among rebounding at 4.3.

Curry is averaging 1.9 steals a game which places him fourth in the NBA among all players. He is also ninth in the league in free throw shooting at .878.

No rookie has ever shot 45% from the field, 40% on three point shots and 85% from the free throw line. Curry is about to accomplish that feat.

2. Tyreke Evans- Sacramento Kings

Tyreke Evans has been the front runner for the NBA Rookie Of The Year award all year. Now I’m going to explain why I don’t think he should win the award. (Tyreke, I know you’re reading this and that you are probably mad right now. It’s all good. I still love ya).

Tyreke Evans is leading all NBA rookies in scoring, but he is doing it while shooting only 26.5% from the three point line and 74.4% from the charity stripe. Both those numbers are far behind Curry.

Evans is averaging a full rebound more than Curry this season. He is also three inches taller and outweighs Stephen by 35 pounds. Evans wins this battle by default.

Evans may be very close to Curry in assists (5.8 vs 5.9), but he is getting a reputation as a ball hog. Don’t get me wrong, he is a a really good player, I just don’t know if he will be the kind of guy that you should build a team around.

There are other rookies that you could throw in the conversation. Brandon Jennings and Darren Collison being the two main ones. However we know that only two of them have a chance of winning the Rookie Of They Year award. Stay tuned to see if Stephen Curry wins the honor I believe he truly deserves.

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Bucks Should Have Easy Game Tonight Vs Clippers

Milwaukee may have an easy game tonight against the Clippers, but maybe that should worry them. The Bucks are now only a game ahead of the Miami Heat for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. That means they would face either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks in the first round.

The problem is that if they win their opening round series, then they would get the team with the best record in the NBA in the second round. That of course would be Cleveland and it would most certainly spell doom for the Bucks.

If Milwaukee falls to the number six seed, where they would face either Boston or Atlanta, and they won that series; then they would most likely play Orlando in the second round. That still wouldn’t be a cakewalk, but at least they wouldn’t face Lebron James so early.

So maybe they should lose to the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. Perhaps they should let Chris Kaman run wild and throw together a 20 point, 10 rebound game.

That of course won’t happen. Baron Davis is out for the Clippers and even with him they are not a very good team right now. Plus the Bucks players need the momentum of playing well way more than they need to worry about playoff positioning. With one of the top rookies in the NBA (Brandon Jennings) running the show, these last few games are very important to build confidence.

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Could Casspi Win NBA Rookie of the Year

Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings seem destined to be  on a crash course toward the NBA Rookie of the Year award. More than likely one of these amazing talents will end up winning the honor.

However over the last couple of weeks a legitimate challenger to the throne has emerged. Omri Casspi. Over the last five games he is averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and has a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. He has raised his three point percentage to 47% and has positioned himself as the second best player on the Kings.

The problem is that Kevin Martin will return at some point and I can see Casspi being the rookie to defer stats to Martin more than Evans. However if the Kings trade Martin and Evans goes on a shooting slump, Casspi could pull out the top rookie award.

The thing is that Casspi can shoot the three, but he doesn’t have to rely on it. He is 6-foot-9, so he can score inside when his shot is off. His size also allows him to contribute on the boards if he hits a rookie wall. If he learns to get to the foul line at least five times again, he should be able to survive a slump.

Remember too that he isn’t a true rookie. He’s played overseas and at 21 years old, though he isn’t a veteran, he also isn’t an immature 19 year old barely out of high school. Unlike Brandon Jennings, who more than likely peaked, and Evans who will probably level out (though at a good level), Casspi will more than likely improve as the season continues.

How much he improves will determine how many NBA Rookie of the Year votes he gets.

For more on Omri Casspi click here.

Here is a great interview with Omri Casspi and his brother Eitan.

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Did Brandon Jennings purposely sabotage his draft position?

How were the Big Mac's in Italy?

I have to wonder. With Brandon Jennings considered a mid 1st round draft pick; could he have planned this? Did he decide to forgo many more millions of dollars to play on a playoff caliber team his rookie season?

Think about it. Had he gone to college he could have possibly had himself in position to be a top five draft pick. That would mean at least one year of horrible losing streaks and playing in front of empty crowds. In the long run it could hurt his confidence and future endorsement earnings.

Now all he has to do is hope the Minnesota Timberwolves don’t draft him at No. 18. He will more than likely go to a team that is either already a playoff team or on the verge. His personality and play making ability will make him a celebrity in whatever market he ends up.

I don’t actually believe that he would go all the way to Italy  to sabotage his own draft position. However that is exactly what he did. Now he just needs to make the best of it. If he works hard he can turn this unfortunate situation into a great opportunity.

Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry and other top point guards are going to have to be go to guys on bad teams. Brandon Jennings will have good solid players around  to mentor him. He’ll get the chance to see what it’s like to win in the NBA. If he isn’t too cocky he will get a great education his rookie season and probably get playoff experience.

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