FOURTEEN weeks into the season, the NBA freshmen had acclimatized themselves to the varied realities of the league. Some had accepted their roles as valuable bench decorations, others are still struggling with the system, some late round picks had surprised the non-believers and most of the top selections playing as expected. Here they are in no particular order.
LUCA DONCIC (DAL) – The Slovenian small forward was the Atlanta Hawks’ 3rd pick but was dealt to Dallas. He is yet to turn 20 next month but he leads the Mavericks and all rookies (tied at 27th overall with Mike Conley) in scoring with a 20.2 per game scoring clip. As of the latest All-Star fan balloting, he joins Paul George and LeBron James in the Western Conference frontcourt plus Derrick Rose and Stephen Curry. In the Mavs’ past 5 games, Doncic averaged 25.2 points that included a big game against Minnesota where he almost had a triple double (29 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds).
TRAE YOUNG (ATL) – The Hawks had their reasons in trading for Young and probably they thought he would be a better fit to their system that Doncic. At the start, Trae had been inconsistent with his shots but had since improved. He has averaged 17ppg in Atlanta’s last 10 games and is the team’s 2nd leading scorer behind John Collins. He leads all rookies in assists with 7 dishes per game, tying LeBron James at 9th overall. Trae has the moves but he still has a lot to learn. Atlanta is 13-30 and is 12th in the Eastern Conference compared to Dallas (20-33), but in a loaded Western Conference is only good for 13th place. The usual “what ifs” come had the teams not dealt their first round picks.
DeANDRE AYTON (PHX) – The Suns sits at the bottom of the WC with an 11-33 record. With Tyson Chandler’s relocation to LAL, Ayton becomes Phoenix’s last line of defense. This year’s number one pick is doing just that but he needs to be consistent in his point production to take the load off on Devin Booker. He has decent numbers with 16.6ppg, 10.7rpg and a block per game. His rebounding average leads all rookies and ranks 14th overall. He should be dominating and dunking over everyone, just like what Shaquille O’Neal did in his rookie year instead of being mostly tentative. Wouldn’t it be nice if he did just that, getting all those lobs from D-Book.
JAREN JACKSON, JR. (MEM) – Memphis Grizzlies 4th pick is doing exactly what a power forward should do – scoring and defending. His game style is a Kevin Garnett/Draymond Green hybrid and his 1.5 blocks per game average is 11th in the league, 4 rungs higher than teammate and Memphis veteran Marc Gasol. He needs to develop more on his strength as he has a tendency to be out-muscled and out-positioned by other players. He’s athletic and good block timing but Jackson, Jr. needs to improve on his rebounding (4.6rpg) and not be too generous in fouls. He leads the league with almost four fouls per outing. He’s still 19 and has a lot to learn.
COLLIN SEXTON (CLE) – Cleveland’s 8th pick ran rings around the LA Lakers the other day with his 17 points, mostly on drives to the basket. He has scored in double figures in their last five games and with the win over the Lakers, broke a 12-game losing skid. The victory should inspire him and the rest of the last placed Cavaliers (9-35) to perform better.
KEVIN KNOX (NYK) – Picked 9th by the Knicks, Knox was named as the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month last December when he averaged 17 points and six rebounds. He is on the team’s starting unit and is a solid contributor with 12.7ppg and 4.2rpg.
Other rookies to watch are Frank Jackson (NOP), Wendell Carter, Jr. (CHI), Landry Shamet (PHI), Rodions Kurucs (BKN), Mo Bamba (ORL), Marvin Bagley III (SAC) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (LAC)./PN
