NBA rookies beat sophomores for second year in a row
For the second year in a row, the rookies defeated the sophomores in the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge. Are rookies trying harder than sophomores, or are players from the past two drafts better than last year’s picks? Before the 2010 game, the sophomores had won the last 7 games, usually by a wide margin.
In 2010, the featured sophomore players were Michael Beasley, Marc Gasol, Danilo Gallinari, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, and Russell Westbrook (Derrick Rose did not play). Featured rookies were DeJuan Blair, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Taj Gibson, James Harden and Brandon Jennings. Gordon, Love, Mayo and Westbrook should have been enough to fend off the rookies, but led by game MVP Tyreke Evans, the rookies cruised to a 140-128 victory.
The sophomores definitely had the best heavyweight talent in this game, but the rookies have a bit more depth. Gordon, Love and Westbrook may be the second-best player of a contender, especially with a couple more years of growth, but the talent fades after that. The rookies have a lot more players who could be the third or fourth man in a contender with Curry, Harden, Gibson, Blair and Jennings. Aside from those players and OJ Mayo for the sophomore team, there’s not much I like. The 2011 game features more players who could emerge as top players in the future.
In 2011, the top rookies are Demarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Landry Fields, Gary Neal and Eric Bledsoe. The top sophomores are Wes Matthews, DeJuan Blair, Stephen Curry, Serge Ibaka, and Brandon Jennings. John Wall received the MVP with a Rookie Challenge-record 22 assists, but Cousins could also have been the MVP with all the points from him. Former Kentucky teammates combined to win the game for the rookies. Wall and Cousins had talked before the game, Wall wanted the assist record, Cousins wanted the MVP. No other player put in as much effort as those two in the game, so it made sense for the rookies to win. Wall probably won the MVP when he made a ridiculous half-court alley-oop rebound pass to the Clippers’ Griffin in front of the Los Angeles crowd. Watching the game, it was easy to see that Cousins took the game very seriously, as he recently got in some trouble with the Kings for fighting with a teammate. Maybe that’s why the rookies won over the second years.
As sophomores emerged last year and with the rookie class incoming, there’s a lot to like for the future of the NBA. There are plenty of young players who could help contending teams with superstars in their prime. Wall looks like a great PG of the future, and Cousins is a headcase who probably won’t mature until his early 20s if you can afford to keep him that long. Griffin is exciting and gives the Clippers hope along with Eric Bledsoe. Landry Fields and Gary Neal are two steals in the draft who can help their team in the playoffs. Greg Monroe will emerge as a Pistons talent people will talk about if they can finally gut the old team. The sophomores have had another year to develop, and the future looks bright for them too.
The NBA definitely seems ready for secondary and role players with these rookies and rookies like Durant, LeBron, Melo and the rest of the superstars in their prime looking to start NBA dynasties.