NBA Rookie Rankings- Verison 1

Every season, we have the NBA draft and look for the rookies. Which rookie is going to be a impact player right away? Who’s going to be catching the pine?  Instead of making a rookie ranking right away, I decided to give it a couple weeks to see what playing time the rookies were given. Now that we have a small sample size, here are the 10 best rookies so far.

10. Ishmael Smith

( Guard, Houston Rockets : 5.1 ppg, 3.1 apg)

Remember him? With Aaron Brooks missing 4-6 weeks and Kyle Lowry missing time ( he’s return since then), Smith has been a solid backup for the Rockets. At only 6 feet, Smith isn’t a great scorer but has found his away to the basket plenty of times this season. I do believe this allows the Rockets to bring Brooks back slowly, Smith can handle 15-20 minutes a game and has plenty of good games to prove that ( 11 points, 7 assists vs San Antonio, 12 point, 3 assists vs Washington and 12 points, 5 assists vs Oklahoma City)

9. Gary Forbes

(Forward, Denver Nuggets: 7.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg)

Forbes, 25 is looking more and more like a mainstay on this Denver roster.  Similar to Ish Smith, Forbes has benefited from injuries to Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson to make his case to stay on the roster. Off the bench, Forbes has been really effective: 50% from the field and 53% from 3. Add the fact he’s played very good defense this season, you have the 9th best rookie so far.

8. Evan Turner

( Guard/Forward, Philadelphia 76ers: 9.2 ppg, 2.4 apg and 6.7 rpg)

Turner starts at 8 for me. The reason? This Sixers team is somewhat young. Other then Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala ( who I expect to be dealt soon), The Sixers have Holiday (20), Turner (22), Williams (24), Young (22), Meeks (23), Spieghts (23) and Hawes (22).  There are tons of growing pains. What I’m most impressed about? Turner’s rebounding numbers. Even though Turner’s jumpshot seems to be developmental at this point, he’s constantly attacking the boards.

7. Wesley Johnson

(Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves: 9.6ppg, 3.4rpg and 2.3apg)

Wes Johnson, what to make of him. For one, he’s moved to the shooting guard position and gets to play with Micheal Beasley and Kevin Love. I feel, with Beasley’s current hotstreak, don’t sleep on Wes Johnson’s scoring increasing even to double digits. Over the past 3 games, I would say Johnson has begun to improve defensively and don’t sleep on his passing ability.

6. DeMarcus Cousins

( Center, Sacramento Kings: 10ppg, 6.9rpg and 0.8 bpg)

For one, the Kings are tossing around many different lineups so Cousins’ playing time has been erratic. That being said, Cousins reminds me a Zach Randolph. Early in Randolph’s career, he was very foul prone ( Cousins as well) but always did one thing well: ATB. Even though he wasn’t a monster rebounder in college, Cousins has 5 games with at least 8 rebounds early in this season. On top of that, Cousins has shown his low post moves and I believe there above average and I can see Cousins having alot of good games in the following weeks to come.

5. Derrick Favors

( Forward, New Jersey Nets: 7.6ppg, 6.4rpg)

Favors ( to me at least) has looked more impressive then Cousins because coming out of college, Favors was seen as the “project”.  With Troy Murphy out for a extended period of time, Favors has had only Kris Humpries to beat out for playing time at the PF spot. Yesterday, Favors set a career mark with 14 points. Another reason to rank him in the top 5.  The Nets will look to use him in spot minutes to get his feet wet by the 2nd half of the season, I can see New Jersey using Favors even more.

4. Eric Bledsoe

(Guard, Los Angeles Clippers: 9.1 ppg, 5.1apg and 1.2 spg)

Coming out of Kentucky, I had my doubts. Bledsoe played next to John Wall and really didn’t get to show his true point guard skills. With fellow rookies Blake Griffin and Al Faroqu Aminu, plus Eric Gordon, Bledsoe has been able to run the team without looking to score. I do have some concerns (3.2 tpg) but with experience, that will change. Of all the rookies on this list, Bledsoe also has the potential to drop out of it completely with the potential return of Baron Davis.

3. Landry Fields

( Guard/Forward, New York Knicks: 10.4ppg, 6.4rpg)

As a Knicks fan, I’ll say it: Landry Fields has been the fan favorite and the most consistent player on the team so far.  Fields has been a breath of fresh air for the Knicks, providing solid defense, grabbing rebounds at a great rate ( 17 rebounds vs Denver) and continues to score enough that the Knicks don’t consider switch he and 6th man Wilson Chandler.

2. John Wall

( Guard, Washington Wizards: 18.1 ppg, 9.8 apg and 3.3 spg)

Breathtaking speed, potential shutdown defender and leading a terrible team. On my twitter (twitter.com/qhaynes22), I stated that John Wall could be the best PG in the East within 27 months, the numbers are showing you that I might be correct. What’s stopping John Wall from being number one? For one, I want to see Wall dominate some more games, he seems to be most comfortable when he can run. Another, his shooting percentage. Wall is only shooting: 43% as of today.

1. Blake Griffin

(Forward, Los Angeles Clippers: 18.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg and 0.4 bpg)

In short, Blake Griffin has been amazing. Similar to Fields in New York, Griffin has just been new life for the Clippers. He plays hard, he attacks on offense and can stay in front on defense. Even though he can stay in front of his man on defense, Griffin’s one on one defense is average at this point. Also, for such a freak athlete, Griffin doesn’t get too many blocks. I feel his timing will getting better and should be within the 1 to 1.4 range in his prime. Go watch some of the game film of Griffin the past couple of weeks, he reminds me of a young Shawn Kemp.