Rookie Watch: Yi, Durant, Horford showing solid progress
Editor's note: Each week, David Thorpe will rank the rookies and provide his observations on the celebrated class of 2007-08.
Also, check out Thorpe's updated Rookie 50 rankings.
The rookies are two months into their first NBA season. How are they progressing? Have they hit the wall yet? Here are my latest observations:
• I currently have Carlos Boozer rated as one of the top five players in the NBA, but he may not want to see Al Horford anytime soon. Horford's 17 points in 28 minutes against Utah last week, and the way he went at Boozer with no fear, must have the Hawks' execs smiling uncontrollably. There are games when I wonder if Big Al will ever be a true nightly scoring threat. This was not one of those nights.
• Defenders must learn that flying out to contest a Juan Carlos Navarro 3 makes no sense. He'll simply fake you and casually watch you fly by before setting and launching his deadly shot. Better to close out low and fast and make him deal with a player in front of him.
• Sean Williams is clearly a gifted athlete and a special shot-blocker, but that blessed combination comes with a downside. His eagerness to block a shot on pogo-stick legs means that when he goes up to make a block, he does not come down for awhile. And no other play can be made (by him) until that point. Also, sometimes the best play is not the block attempt, but positioning for the likely rebound.
• I wonder if teams have figured out that by playing more physically with Glen Davis they can neutralize his best assets -- he's bigger and stronger than most young players. He has not performed nearly as well as he did just a week ago.
• Jamario Moon had his shot-blocking streak stopped at 19 games, and then didn't block a shot in the next game either. But I'm more concerned about his offensive game and the direction it's going, because he's scored six or less points in eight games in December (three straight before Christmas).
• Joakim Noah was a victim of the strange rotation game former coach Scott Skiles was playing. He and Aaron Gray both deserve more playing time. It will be interesting to see what the new coach will do with his two rookies.
• Watching Kevin Durant destroy the Raptors last Friday gave me the sense that he will be one of the best "tall" shot-makers this league has ever seen. I've been comparing him to George Gervin for over a year now, but he has some Dirk in him too with his ability to make shots over just about anyone off the dribble. Factor in his 3-point development (he was at just 32 percent for December) and he becomes the nightmare matchup Dirk is, with more quickness and better creativity off the dribble -- a la Gervin.
• Yi Jianlian's career-high 29 points, most coming from long 2-pointers, showed that he is the other Dirk-like talent from this draft, combining excellent size with great shooting skills and movement. Adding 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot is the stuff P.J. Carlesimo hopes to get from KD.
• I've always been an Al Thornton fan, so I was pleased to see his 25-point outburst against the Spurs. But I've watched him try far too hard to make plays all season, so I'm worried that with such a terrific game he might be inclined to continue that style, which is not a consistently productive way to play. Consider this: At the current rate he's racking up assists, he'll be awarded his 10th dime of the season sometime in mid-January. That's right, he has seven assists in 390 minutes of action, and has managed to take 157 shots and 48 free throws in that time.
• It was nice to see Luis Scola show his set of skills against the Bulls, eating up both Ben Wallace and Aaron Gray with hustle, shot fakes, and aggressiveness on the glass. A double-double of 14 and 11 is perhaps a sign of things to come. I keep thinking that if the Rockets can help him find his game every night, that will be the key to them becoming a more serious playoff contender.
• Every time I focus on Scola, he leaves me wondering why he does not get more playing time. He seems to have an antidote for a team currently 22nd in offensive efficiency. He can shoot, post up and create his own shot -- with crafty moves and superb timing on his counter-spin (both off the dribble and on the blocks).
• Another Rockets rook who's looking to get more time is diminutive point guard Aaron Brooks. He provided a valuable spark in Houston's win over Chicago with six assists, and followed that up with a solid 12 points on six shots in Detroit. His small stature helps him on offense, where his quickness and change-of-speed dribble make him a tough guy to stay in front of. And he's a better finisher at the rim than you'd think.
• Jared Dudley's got a nice-looking stroke from the perimeter. But like many players, his left hand (more specifically, his left thumb) gets involved with the shot as something more than a mere guide hand. This left thumb action can somewhat mitigate the otherwise pure mechanics Dudley uses, and decreases the likelihood that the shot will fall. His effective field-goal percentage of .288 will shoot up if Dudley can "quiet" that thumb.
• Seeing a box score of one point and one rebound in 18 minutes would concern lots of fans, when evaluating a rookie, but Arron Afflalo's contributions in Detroit amount to things that the box score does not notate. In the Pistons' win over Houston, consider this: By not forcing up shots, he allowed their core guys to get theirs. He plays D well and moves the ball nicely -- something veterans and coaches love.
• Daequan Cook made it into Pat Riley's short rotation, and delivered in Miami's win over Utah with 15 points in 22 minutes. This is a very confident young man (he'll be 21 in April), who coolly stuck a 3 when the Heat were down one with 30 seconds left. More impressively, he made the catch with 34 seconds left, then patiently jabbed off Matt Harpring to create the shooting space he needed.
• I'm sure it has happened before, but still, seeing Chris Richard's string of 0s in the box score in 17 minutes against the Hornets on Saturday is an eye-opener. To not contribute anything but two fouls in that much time is a request for less playing time.
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