austinpowers

These 10 rooks are head of the class at All-Star breakBy John Hollinger
ESPN Insider
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6. Sergio Rodriguez, Portland
"Spanish Chocolate" would rank higher if he'd played more minutes, but a crowded guard rotation and a recent injury have combined to keep him on the pine much of the season.

When he's played, he's been breathtaking, carving up opposing defenses with his penetration and passing skills and posting a whopping (and league-leading) assist ratio of 43.6 (percent of his possessions that end in assists).

The question now is how somebody who breaks down defenses off the dribble so much can manage to have just nine free-throw attempts all season.

5. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland
The Blazers certainly have to be excited about Aldridge's potential.

He's a deadly mid-range jump shooter and might have the highest release point the league has seen since Robert Parish retired. Right now that makes him a solid rotation player, but if he's going to be a real force he'll have to add muscle, improve his post game and get pushed around less on defense.

Aldridge's playing time should increase sharply in a week once the Jamaal Magloire Trade Showcase Extravaganza comes to an end, and with added experience could come improvement.

1. Brandon Roy, Portland
Before the season, the running line was that Roy would win the ROY award. So far, so good.

Despite a 20-game injury absence, Roy has clearly been the cream of this year's rookie crop. He's the only one who has anything resembling go-to guy status on his team (though Zach Randolph does the heavy lifting, Roy often gets the call in late-game situations), he has the top PER among all rookies and, helpfully, he's well out in front in the almighty points per game category.

In a generally disappointing rookie crop, he's really the only first rounder to live up to the hype so far, and at this point it would be a shocking upset if he failed to take home his namesake award. Throw in Aldridge and Rodriguez, and Portland's first round in 2006 is looking like a home run.

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MAS RipCity

Great love for PDX rooks...and no Ammo...ouch..not even an honorable metnion.

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mgb

All three Blazers rookies in the top 6? This guy has to be a Blazer fan!

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SheedSoNasty

That or just an intelligent and well informed basketball fan.

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Darman

Not well informed if he places Bargnani at 9... the guy is just looking at the stats.

crowTrobot

EFF/48 tells the story. out of 433 players in the league morrison is #382, and out of 68 rookies that have played he's only #49.

dkap

One of my thoughts on Morrison coming out of college is that he would never be an effective scorer in the NBA because he relies on a volume of shots, and he wouldn't be good enough out of the gates to warrant the touches. I'm starting to wonder if the Charlotte front office didn't look at it the same way and has encouraged him to keep shooting no matter how inefficient he is, knowing it's the only way he'll do what he's capable of?

Keep in mind, efficiency often is not the sole measure of effectiveness. Iverson, for example, has long been a player who's impact on a game is much greater than his shooting percentage would indicate. Keeping the defense off balance can be just as important. That seems to be Morrison's type of game, as well.

Dan

Draco

Efficiency is often overemphasized in a players effectiveness. There are possesions during the game where the shot clock is running out or a shot has to be taken quickly at the buzzer when the best chance for a score are much lower then the leagues average FG%. This lowers the % for players who who is trying to create offense. Other players who don't take any shots in the flow of the offense and only score from a few putbacks or wide open dunks a game will have a very efficiency numbers, but they arn't helping their team put points on the board.

crowTrobot

in morrison's case it's a pretty good indication of why he's not in the top 10 rookies at this point.

Anonymous Gambler

the stache sucks....apologies to zags

zagsfan20

Careers are over after the first half season of a players career. Oh duh, I must not have got the memo.

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c_note

You just compared Adam Morrison's court presence to Allen Iverson?? Ya, I can definitely see it...

dkap

Both are similarly disparaged for their inefficiency.

Dan

Diable

I've always suspected that the Bobcats picked Morrison because they believed he would be marketable.At the beginning of the season he was featured in this corny ad campaign,but you don't see that now.They're in a pretty tough situation due to some missteps,the legacy of George Shinn and the fact that they can't field a competitive team.I was of the opinion that a good marketting campaign might be more effective by putting a more competitive team on the floor.You can't sell people **** unless you break their noses first.

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