NBA Rookie Power Rankings: James Wiseman has big game off the bench; Immanuel Quickley continues to shine - CBSSports.com

NBA Rookie Power Rankings: James Wiseman has big game off the bench; Immanuel Quickley remains 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 security protocols, it's safe to say that no new rookie class has had to endure what these crop of first-year players have been through. Now that we've seen approximately a month's worth of games from these guys, it's only colorful to rank who I think the top three rookies are for Rookie of the Year at this indicate 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 sketching buckets hasn't been great. He's shooting just 35.5 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from deep on over five shifts 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 though-provoking on to this week's rookie rankings. These rankings will deem 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 pain to mix things up, Warriors coach Steve Kerr pushed Wiseman to the bench in faulty of Kevon Looney, and while it distinguished 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 loan as it allows him to analyze the flow of the game and what the opposing team is doings before he checks in. That certainly helped when the Warriors took on the Timberwolves in the instant 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 listed, and got most of his points easily by just being in the right assign at the right time.

He wasn't trying to do too much or forcing anything. Instead, he ran the listed 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 leftovers to get a better feel for the game in each matchup.

Here's a stat, Edwards ranks pleasant in the league in points scored per possession in isolation (1.571). Although it may be a miniature 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 speedily and quickness to get past essentially anyone.

While he's not finishing about the rim at the rate of top guards in the directed like Jaylen Brown (71.3 percent) and Zach LaVine (71.1 percent), his 46.8 percent in the Liberated 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 force to 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 ample on this young Knicks roster, and if he corpses on this track he'll make it hard for coach Tom Thibodeau to not put him in the starting lineup.

Anthony corpses to improve in his 3-point shooting, where he struggled heavily at the commence 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 perform for himself a bit more. Since he's been thrust into the starting lineup, he can put the ball on the heath a bit more and try to perform space and knock down a 3-pointer in rhythm. He's far more efficient when he puts the ball on the heath and pulls up from deep, as opposed to just beings used as a catch-and-shoot scorer. When Anthony takes 0-2 dribbles afore 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 stunning noticeable.

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

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

After a loss to the Bulls sponsor this week in which Ball played in just 16 minutes, Hornets coach James Borrego was expected why the prized rookie wasn't seeing more minutes. Borrego aspired at Ball's five turnovers in that matchup as the reason, revealing "that ain't gonna cut it for me," and that "if you're actions that on the offensive end, you better be bringing something defensively." While Borrego may be intelligent, 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 anticipated 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 guarantee 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 combine looked like missed communication with teammates, and others just missed the mark from beings 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 little bit more room for mistakes.

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

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

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

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

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

January 23, 2021 02:36 AM

Kings' Tyrese Haliburton: Comes up big off bench