For the first time ever, these rookie rankings have a tie in the top five. That's a testament to how well this rookie class has played this year, and after seeing the Rookie Game team rosters announced for All-Star weekend last week it's pretty easy to see how good this group really is. Heck, they could even be the first rookie team to win the dang thing in five or six years!
#1 (1) – Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls (21-27) – 16.7ppg, 6.3apg, 3.5rpg
The Bulls have won three in a row (all of them road games) and Rose has played a large part in each of those wins. While his jumpshot seems to have reverted a bit in the last few weeks, he court vision and assist numbers just continue to climb. For just having turned twenty years old earlier this season, he's such a mature, calm player that there are some games where you'd never even guess he was a rookie.
#2 (2) – O.J. Mayo – Memphis Grizzlies (11-35 – 19.1ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.8apg
Let's give Mayo some credit; he's shot the ball a whole lot better over the course of the last week. He's made exactly 50% of his shots the last four games to average exactly 20 points per game. The gripe all year has been that yes, Mayo can score, but he takes too many shots and shoots too low a percentage. He keeps this up and even that gripe will be wiped from the agenda.
#3 (4) – Brook Lopez – New Jersey Nets (21-27) – 11.8ppg, 7.9rpg, 1.9bpg
Yet another huge game from Lopez (24 points, 17 boards against Philadelphia) shows how impressive and dominant this young man can be at times. He's scored in double figures 11 times out of 16 January games and in nine of those games he swatted away three or more blocked shots. He's going to be a dominant center it seems, if only he could rebound consistently.
#4 (3) – Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder (11-36) – 14.6ppg, 4.8apg, 4.4rpg
It continues to amaze he how well little Russ Westbrook rebounds the ball. Ranked in the top ten among rookies in rebounds per game, he's the only guy in that group who doesn't play a post position. Only once this month has he failed to score in double figures, and the Thunder are even 7-7 in January. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but pretty good for a team who only had four wins heading into 2009. A large part of that success has come from Westbrook and his sizzling hot teammate Kevin Durant. Those two are going to be really fun to watch for a really long time.
#5T (NR) – Greg Oden – Portland Trail Blazers (29-17) – 8.9ppg, 7.2rpg, 1.1bpg
#5T (NR) – Michael Beasley – Miami HEAT (25-21) – 13.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 0.9apg
Tough call here this week because both guys have had their moments to shine, and both have had times where they disappear. Oden leads all rookies in double-doubles, but Beasley continues to come on strong as the scoring and rebounding threat the HEAT thought he was when they drafted him. Don't expect a lot of ties in these rankings, but this week it was just too hard to decide who's played better between these two high-profile rooks.
Honorable Mention: Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Mario Chalmers, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez
Not a lot of movement on the top of the rankings, but the lower part is seeing some shaking and moving. Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernandez have not been particularly outstanding in recent weeks, while Eric Gordon and Kevin Love have been absolutely fantastic. While the top four or five will likely remain relatively consistent over the rest of the season, it's these bottom guys that will be causing stirs for that All-Rookie Second Team.
