As good as Damian Lillard has been in his rookie season, his impact on the Portland Trail Blazers ends April 17. That’s the last day of the regular season, and the Blazers are not making the playoffs. While they currently are just two losses out of eighth place in the Western Conference, they also are in 11th place, with Utah and Dallas in front of them. Lillard is not alone; most of this season’s top newcomers will be watching the postseason on TV. In fact,
Power forward for the Houston Rockets has been a revolving door. The Rockets have had seven different power forwards on their roster this season. At last month’s trading deadline, they took a bit of a risk and moved the two men who had manned the position for most of the season – Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris – in separate deals. That shuffling brought back Thomas Robinson in a deal that most believed was a fleecing of the Sacramento Kings, who gave
NBA scouts may have overlooked Bradley Beal’s best quality. When Beal declared for the 2012 draft, his combination of 6-5 size and excellent mechanics made him the top shooting guard prospect. After a slow start to the season – somewhat attributed to the injury absence oF backcourt mate John Wall – he has found his rhythm and is shooting better than 46 percent from the field since New Year’s Day. However, Beal also has shown remarkable mental and physical toughness throughout his
Thomas Robinson just caught a huge break. With the possible exception of Austin Rivers, Robinson had been the most disappointing 2012 lottery pick this season. An All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year, he went fifth overall to the Sacramento Kings, who weren’t exactly loaded in the frontcourt. There appeared to be an opportunity for Robinson to make an impact as a rookie, but he did not. He has averaged 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in just under 16 minutes.
Last week, rookie big men Tyler Zeller and Andrew Nicholson weren’t even in these rankings. This week, they are in the Rising Stars contest that kicks off All-Star Weekend on Friday night. Zeller, the center of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was among the original field of nine rookies chosen for the game. Nicholson, a power forward for the Orlando Magic, was added this week to replace injured Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond. [Read more…]
Damian Lillard’s path to Rookie of the Year just seems to get easier every week. In addition to his unwavering play at the game’s toughest position, the point guard of the Portland Trail Blazers has yet to miss a game this season, which many of his fellow classmates have been unable to say lately. [Read more…]
Pistons No. 1 draft pick Andre Drummond There is a developing groundswell of support for Andre Drummond as an alternative to Damian Lillard for Rookie of the Year. This is a borderline insane notion, of course. Drummond is a big man who doesn’t even start for the awful Detroit Pistons, who harbor only faint playoff hopes despite playing in the Eastern Conference. Lillard is a point guard, the toughest position in the NBA, and is playing it so
As good as Damian Lillard has been this season, he is not good enough to be an All-Star as a rookie. Lillard plays for the wrong team in the wrong time zone in the wrong conference. The Portland Trail Blazers are not a glamour bunch. Their home games end when half the country is asleep. And most important, their half of the league is loaded with awesome backcourt players. [Read more…]