Last week, we discussed how the race for Rookie of the Year is wide open because of injuries to several of the top picks.
No. 3 Otto Porter, No. 6 Nerlens Noel and No. 10 C.J. McCollum still haven’t taken the court this season. But a couple of first-round picks – both point guards – made their NBA debuts this week.
On Monday, it was Dallas Mavericks guard Shane Larkin, who suffered a broken ankle in the last practice before summer league. On Wednesday, it was Utah Jazz guard Trey Burke, who suffered a broken finger in training camp.
Initially, both players acquitted themselves well and could be creeping into our rankings before long. Larkin had three points, three assists and three steals in his debut vs. Philadelphia, then scored eight points with two assists (and four turnovers) in 17 minutes of Wednesday’s up-and-down affair vs. Houston.
Ironically, Larkin’s return bumped one of his teammates out of the rankings. While Larkin was sidelined, Israeli rookie Gal Mekel had been serving as Jose Calderon’s backup. Mekel had been averaging 13.5 minutes per game – and playing pretty well – but saw just six minutes vs. Philadelphia and was saddled with a DNP vs. Houston.
Before getting too excited about Larkin’s early returns, keep in mind that the Mavericks also are awaiting the return of veteran point guard Devin Harris, whom they envisioned as Calderon’s backup when they signed him as a free agent in the offseason.
Harris could be back from toe surgery as early as next week, which would put Larkin next to Mekel on the Dallas bench, watching and learning from a pair of solid veterans.
Burke is another story. The Jazz have envisioned him as their point guard for the next 10 years ever since draft night, when they dealt their two first-round picks to Minnesota to move up and take the NCAA Player of the Year ninth overall. Given his projected playing time, we got a little excited about his rookie prospects.
Then Burke broke a finger, and we tempered our enthusiasm a little bit and shamefully joined the herd.
While Burke was sidelined, the tanking rebuilding Jazz lost 11 of their first 12 games, using awful point guard play to take 
the early lead in the Andrew Wiggins Sweepstakes. Among those given the handle and unable to hold it were veteran Jamaal Tinsley, journeyman John Lucas, scrap heap signing Diante Garrett and shooting guard Alec Burks.
On Wednesday at New Orleans, Burke came off the bench and played about six minutes in each half. Each time he entered the game, he did not hesitate in looking for his offense and quickly scored on a driving layup. In all, he scored 11 points with a 3-pointer, assist, steal and no turnovers in a 105-98 loss.
Burke clearly wanted to play more, but coach Tyrone Corbin still allocated 16 minutes to Lucas, who started, and 20 minutes to Garrett.
“That’s how it is coming off an injury,” Burke said. “Coach wanted to shelter me a little bit.”
There’s no need to shelter Burke going forward. The Jazz are terrible; they have four more losses than any other team and are being outscored by 11 points per game. They desperately need offense, which Burke can provide.
After making his NBA debut this week, look for Burke’s debut here next week.
On to the rankings.