Rookie Watch - Top 10 (2nd Edition)

[rh0xxy]

Alright! Here's my Rookie Ranking's 2nd edition.

Will he be the next Rookie of the Year?

1. Zaccheus Darko-Kelly - Spurs (picked 6th overall) Prev. Rank #1
Previous: 16.9 pts/ 3 rebs/ 1.6 asts/ 46.2% FG/ 48% 3FG/ 32.8 mins/ GP:17/ GS:16
Current: 17.1 pts/ 3.2 rebs/ 1.6 asts/ 45.2% FG/ 47.2% 3FG/ 32.2 mins/ GP:25/ GS:24

ZDK is slowly running away from the pack. ROY could be in the bag. He has upped his averages in scoring and rebounds while maintaining his playmaking.

2. Lamelo Ball - Magic (picked 3rd overall) Prev. Rank #2
Previous: 11.6 pts/ 6.3 rebs/ 6.4 asts/ 1.9 stls/ 37.5% 3FG/ 25.9 mins/ GP:14/ GS:2
Current: 10.7 pts/6.5 rebs/ 5.9 asts/ 1.4 stls/ 40.8% 3FG/ 25.7 mins/ GP:24/ GS:10

Lamelo has finally found his stride in the starting lineup alongside Ja Morant. His percentage from deep is fast improving and could be his lethal weapon moving forward. His assist numbers went down a bit since he is now focus in playing the shooting guard position.

3. Vernon Carey Jr. - Rockets (picked 3rd in the 2nd round) Prev. Rank #4
Previous: 10.2 pts/ 5.1 rebs/ 1.0 ast/ 46.4% FG/ 16.6 mins/ GP:17/ GS:1
Current: 10.5 pts/ 5.7 rebs/ 1.3 asts/ 45.9% FG/ 18.8 mins/ GP:26/ GS:2

Vernon has been consistent so far and proving his spot in the rankings. Seeing him manage to up his production even with just an additional 2.2 minutes of playing time shows his capability to produce if given enough opportunity.

4. Obi Toppin - Cavaliers (picked 6th in the 2nd round) Prev. Rank #3
Previous: 11.4 pts/ 6.8 rebs/ 1.0 ast/ 42.2% FG/ 27.9 mins/ GP:16/ GS:7
Current: 10.7 pts/ 6.5 rebs/ 1.1 asts/ 42.3% FG/ 28.0 mins/ GP:26/ GS:7

Obi has been affected by the team's downfall and is now relegated off the bench. He could be the lucky charm in the starting 5 as they were 1-9 in the last 10 games when he was not starting. This could be something to consider for the Cavs coaching staff.

5. Trey Phils - Mavericks (24th pick overall) Prev. Rank #5
Previous: 12.1 pts/ 2.1 rebs/ 1.4 asts/ 19.6 mins/ GP:16/ GS:1
Current: 11.6 pts/ 2.2 rebs/ 1.1 asts/ 19.6 mins/ GP:25/ GP:2

Trey still thrives as the 1st scoring option when Luka takes a rest. His scoring and assists has dipped quite a bit but still well above some of his peers.

6. Anthony Edwards - Wizards (picked 1st overall) Prev. Rank #8
Previous: 9.1 pts/ 2.5 rebs/ 1.9 asts/ 23.8 mins/ GP:13/ GP:4
Current: 10.2 pts/ 2.4 rebs/ 1.7 asts/ 22.9 mins/ GP:23/ GP:4

Here goes the Ant. Edwards has seemingly found his groove offensively even in a reliever role.

7. Jonathan Kuminga - Magic (picked 5th overall) Prev. Rank #7
Previous: 8.1 pts/ 2.7 rebs/ 1.1 stls/ 47.1% FG/ 19.8 mins/ GP:15/ GS:6
Current: 8.2 pts/ 3.0 rebs/ 0.9 stls/ 45.1% FG/ 19.9 mins/ GP:25/ GS:8

Kuminga slightly upped his scoring and rebounding since the last ranking which is a nice thing for the Magic. His defense is still his priority though.

8. Asbjorn Midtgaard - Hawks (picked 9th overall) Prev. Rank #6
Previous: 7.4 pts/ 4.7 rebs/ 1.3 asts/ 53.1% FG/ 19.8 mins/ GP:16/ GS:0
Current: 6.9 pts/ 4.9 rebs/ 1.2 asts/ 49.1% FG/ 19.9 mins/ GP:26/ GS:2

Asbjorn has been off lately maybe because of the constant shuffling of Hawks rotation. These next stretch could be pivotal for Midtgaard if he wishes to still be in these conversation.

9. Isaac Okoro - Hawks (picked 2nd overall) Prev. Rank #9
Previous: 8.9 pts/ 4.4 rebs/ 2.3 asts/ 25.1 mins/ GP: 11/ GS: 5
Current: 7.5 pts/ 3.7 rebs/ 2.3 asts/ 24.2 mins/ GP:21/ GS:5

Just like everyone else in the Hawks roster, Isaac might have been having a hard time adjusting with the current setup but the sky is still the limit for him if he reaches his potentials.

10. Isaiah Stewart - Wizards (11th overall pick)Prev. Rank #10
Previous: 4.7 pts/ 7.4 rebs/ 1.1 asts/ 28.0 mins/ GP:14/ GS:11
Current: 4.5 pts/ 6.9 rebs/ 1.1 asts/ 1.3 blks/ 26.8 mins/ GP:24/ GS:13

Beef stew saw his numbers went down as he got bumped off the starting lineup. Not sure but he actually is the best shot blocker in this class so far with his 1.3 a game.

[Vann_the_Red]

I expect Paul Reed to be on here someday. Whomever picked for Indiana this offseason before I joined did well by the team. He'll spend this season playing in the G-League because playing time is short up front on the Pacers.

[hardenwithnod]

Edwards is slowly turning the corner, hopefully he can rise up this ranking.

[KW]

Whenever the Eric Paschall trade is finalized, Carey's minutes are probably dropping. His defense and efficiency have been pretty bad recently. Needs to be more of a situational piece than someone I'm regularly giving 20+ minutes to.

[cb4raptorscb4]

ZDK has been really impressive. The Spurs don't have many scorers, but it's not like he's chucking.

I think we'll be giving Levi a shot in a few weeks or maybe sooner. He might be able to crack the top 10 by EOY. We're quite excited about his possibilities.

[WillyJakkz]

Go Magic rookies! Good to see our guys are settling into roles. Just need a little more tweaking to maximize them for our current team structure.

[blackice]

JT Thor and Nuni Omot would like a word

Anyway, good series and I'm curious to see how ZDK develops. Midtgaard is interesting as well.

[Flaming Homer]

Thanks Rhox for keeping up with the Rooks. Good to see Ant getting up there, I was expecting him to be the #1 candidate for ROY.

We are not even trying to shuffling up the lineup but it is the normal reaction to cover for injured players. It moves Midtgaard and Okoro a little.
We did change the offense set between this two editions and it helped quite a few players on the roster, unfortunately Asbjorn was one of tow negative affected. Okoro is just no CSL material yet, don't expect that to change anytime soon.

[wms02a]

Happy w ZDK, wish he would take more shots! anyone have any advise?

[Flaming Homer]

Happy w ZDK, wish he would take more shots! anyone have any advise?

I would probably do 1 more instruction like that: +2 PullUp/ -2 CS
And limit his time together with Smart as much as possible, looks like Smart is still a ball magnet.