Rookies that's box scores have stood out in preseason:
OJ Mayo had
6 threes and 5 steals in the same game last night.
When the Grizzlies traded Love and Miller for Mayo I thought THEY got the steal. Now, that Memphis GM ain't looking to shabby at all. Mayo, Conley, and that other rookie they have
Marc Gasol can all play. Marc Gasol can defend, can pass, and he looked very good in the Olympics against the US Olympians.
Another rookie that looks nasty:
Roy Hibbert.
Big Roy had 17 and 9 in about 20 mins the other night for Indiana. He's going to seriously push Nesterovic for playing time. In the highlights Ii've seen of him he doesn't look stiff or slow at all.
Brandon Rush also looks good for the Pacers. That Bayless/Rush swap seems to have been good for both teams.
Jarryd Bayless really impressed in summer league, but Portlands' so stocked with talent that Rudy Fernandez will be ahead of him at SG, as so far Sergio Rodriguez is ahead at backup PG behind Blake. Regardless, Bayless is an explosive scorer who will play. The Blazers are very impressed with
Nicholas Batum (as was doclinkin, way prior to the draft). Dude can play very good NBA defense and is super young. Sky is the limit for Batum. I see him as a young Posey crossed with Grant Hill.
And as if the Blazers don't already have ENOUGH young talent,
Greg Oden's considered a rookie this season. He's been effective scoring and causing guys to have to foul him. He will be a monster, but I'm thinking Pryzbilla is such a solid rebounder that Oden might not get the minutes to get ROY.
I think the EASY ROY will be
Micheal Beasley. Might put up near 20 and 10 as a rookie.
A rookie who I wanted the Wizards to draft got his first playing time the other night.
Richard Hendrix had 12 points, 13 rebounds (6 offensive), with 2 steals and a block in 22 minutes the other night.
All the talk about Javale McGee being a monster seems to bode well for the Wizards, but I say Richard Hendrix might be better than Boozer down the road. (And I said that about Hendrix
before the draft; just as I said before a past draft that Millsap should have been the Wizards pick, the year they drafted Pecherov.)
Lastly, in tracking 2008 rookies I think two are notably NOT AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED.
Russell Westbrook with OKC has struggled mightily. And,
Derrick Rose hasn's set the world on fire in Chicago.
I thought before the draft that both those guys were way overrated. (I think Mario Chalmers will be more effective in the long run than either of those two, but I could easily be wrong on that call).
The stupidest thing I saw on draft day was that Westbrook went before Kevin Love. Kevin Love made UCLA great last season and Westbrook was good but not great IMHO.
Likewise, Derrick Rose is super talented ... HOWEVER, the dudes that made Memphis great were
Chris Douglas Roberts and
Joey Dorsey. I should have mentioned CDR above, because he's been very impressive in preseason play. Rose to me reminds me a bit of Desmond Mason--highly athletic but not as highly skilled. Probably, the experts were right to select him high ... he should get the turnovers down and be good in time.
I don't think OKC will ever be that pleased with Westbrook, however. He's going to take a long time to pan out, a la Antonio Daniels and Chancey Billups. Niether guy was a hit until after their rookie deals and they'd been traded away. I see the same for Westbrooks.
Overall as far as this year's rookies go, I see a MONSTER class. I didn't even mention Randolph in GS or Brook Lopez in NJ. Both look ready to put points on the board consistently. The guy Thompson, that they jeered in Sacto on draft night, also looks like a very serviceable player.
