NBA Rookie Power Rankings: James Wiseman has big game off the bench; Immanuel Quickley leftovers to shine

We've hit the quarter mark of the season, and in a year that has seen dozens of games postponed, no fans in most cases and a ridiculous amount of players held out due to health and confidence protocols, it's safe to say that no latest rookie class has had to endure what these crop of first-year players have been through. Now that we've seen near a month's worth of games from these guys, it's only knowing to rank who I think the top three rookies are for Rookie of the Year at this prove in the season:

Tyrese Haliburton (11.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, 2.9 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 45.7 3P%)
James Wiseman (12.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.4 BPG)
LaMelo Ball (11.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.3 SPG)

While No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards is leading all rookies in scoring (13.0 PPG), his efficiency in attracting buckets hasn't been great. He's shooting just 35.5 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from deep on over five goes per game. If he was more efficient, he'd be up in the top three, but for now, he's ranked No. 4 for me.

Now arresting on to this week's rookie rankings. These rankings will contemplate a rookie's performance on a week-to-week basis only, not the collective season, so these aren't Rookie of the Year standings. With that straightened out, here is a look at the top rookies this week.

In an pains to mix things up, Warriors coach Steve Kerr pushed Wiseman to the bench in gross of Kevon Looney, and while it powerful seem like a demotion, it's not a permanent placement for the No. 2 overall pick. In fact, Wiseman even said himself that coming off the bench would help with his proceed as it allows him to analyze the flow of the game and what the opposing team is actions before he checks in. That certainly helped when the Warriors took on the Timberwolves in the transfer game of a two-game series. Wiseman went off for an efficient 25 points, six rebounds and two blocks. He went 3-of-3 from deep, and 9-of-14 from the along, and got most of his points frankly by just being in the right achieve at the right time.

He wasn't trying to do too much or forcing anything. Instead, he ran the along and got to his spots and trusted his teammates to find him either down in the low post for an easy layup or dunk, or open at the 3-point line. It was by far his best performance of his rookie year, and he stays to get a better feel for the game in each matchup.

Here's a stat, Edwards ranks splendid in the league in points scored per possession in isolation (1.571). Although it may be a microscopic sample size, as isolation plays make up just five percent of Edwards' possessions, this is no fluke. Coming out of college his isolation scoring was highly touted, as he uses his ridiculous posthaste and quickness to get past essentially anyone.

While he's not finishing about the rim at the rate of top guards in the pursued like Jaylen Brown (71.3 percent) and Zach LaVine (71.1 percent), his 46.8 percent in the Release area puts him in a similar class as Donovan Mitchell, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick Rose. Not bad going for a 19-year-old rookie.

Quickley has understand the darling of the rookie class this season, and for good reason. His floater has already been heralded as the deadliest in the game and he's one of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the league. This past week he appointed just the second rookie this season to put up 30 points in a game (former Kentucky teammate Tyrese Maxey is the anunexperienced one).

What's more impressive about Quickley's performance, plan, is he did it off the bench. He's consistently proving his splendid on this young Knicks roster, and if he stays on this track he'll make it hard for coach Tom Thibodeau to not put him in the starting lineup.

Anthony stays to improve in his 3-point shooting, where he struggled heavily at the inaugurate of the season. Through his first 10 games, he was shooting 17.2 percent from deep, but in his last nine contests, that's significantly improved to 48.6 percent.

One aspect that's factored into his improved shooting from deep has been the freedom he's been given to beget for himself a bit more. Since he's been thrust into the starting lineup, he can put the ball on the depressed a bit more and try to beget space and knock down a 3-pointer in rhythm. He's far more efficient when he puts the ball on the depressed and pulls up from deep, as opposed to just persons used as a catch-and-shoot scorer. When Anthony takes 0-2 dribbles beforehand launching from deep, he connects just 31.2 percent of the time. Compare that to the 43.7 percent he's shooting when he takes between 3-7 dribbles and the difference is attractive noticeable.

Haliburton ranks in the 95th percentile in the targeted in transition scoring, which isn't surprising given that the Kings are a team that wants to get out and run in contradiction of you, which is why they rank 10th in the targeted in pace (101.23).

But Haliburton elevates Sacramento in transition, with his ridiculous rapid, court vision and 3-point shooting. His tenacious security also helps lead to transition points, off of deflections by playing the passing lanes, blocks and steals. Haliburton's along makes him a nuisance on defense, and when he gets out in transition, it's terrified for the other team.

After a loss to the Bulls spinal this week in which Ball played in just 16 minutes, Hornets coach James Borrego was requested why the prized rookie wasn't seeing more minutes. Borrego aimed at Ball's five turnovers in that matchup as the reason, proverb "that ain't gonna cut it for me," and that "if you're activities that on the offensive end, you better be bringing something defensively." While Borrego may be gleaming, you don't want a guard turning the ball over five times in a game. But let's give this some context. Ball is a rookie, and it's predictable for him to commit a lot of turnovers as he feels out the game. Also, it's not as if Ball is just driving into the security and losing the ball off of bad drives. Let's look at the five turnovers from that Bulls game

Of those five, I'd say Ball made a bad read on the one that resulted in a Coby White steal. Other than that, a pair looked like missed communication with teammates, and others just missed the mark from persons in his teammates' hands. If he connected on all those dishes to Cody Zeller, they would be highlight-level assists for a rookie. I get where Borrego is coming from, but maybe let's give the rook a small bit more room for mistakes.

Okoro's protecting effort is what's been getting him attention this season, but in a game in contradiction of the Pistons, he showed some flashes of what he can bring on offense. One execute in particular, a drive to the rim over contact that led to an and-1, was really eye-popping. His most asset on offense is his ability to get to the rim and execute at a decent rate (56.3 percent), and with more opportunity, he can advance even further in that area of his game.

Jones hasn't been sketch a ton of consistent playing time in Houston this season, but when he is given the opportunity to show his suited, he over-delivers, like his 16-point outing in contradiction of the Dallas Mavericks. His small sample sizes of subjects show that he ranks among the league's best in pick-and-roll scorers, generating 1.143 points per possession. While he's only removed 14 total possessions in the pick-and-roll, it's encouraging to see that he's been so effective organization it. That's exactly what you want out of a player who won't see the law courtyard often.

Vassell has been impressive on both sides of the ball this season, showing his instruction to knock down 3s at a high clip and be a bit of a disruptor on defense. What's been most impressive, thought, is his knack for not turning the ball over. Prior to the game in contradiction of the Celtics in which he recorded three turnovers, Vassell hasn't turned the ball over for 11-straight games, and has only filed six turnovers in 18 games so far. It's not as if he's not sketch playing time, his minutes have steadily increased as the season attempts forward, he just does a great job at defensive the ball. That's a great asset to have as a rookie and something that will unhurried keep him in good graces with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

Windler didn't recede in a single game last season when sustaining a stress fracture to his knee, then missed 13 of the Cavs' suited 14 games to start this year with a wrist injury. But he just spent his first full week with Cleveland, and he now showcased what makes him an intriguing prospect.

He's an ideal 3-and-D type player for a Cavaliers security that ranks eighth in the league, and his instruction to knock down shots from deep will help a team that's struggled to get anything moving on offense.

January 23, 2021 02:36 AM

Kings' Tyrese Haliburton: Comes up big off bench