NBA Rookie Power Rankings
Rank LW Player
1 1 Chris Paul
Chris Paul, PG, Hornets (16.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Paul's march toward the Rookie of the Year award took a hit last week when he tore ligaments in his right thumb, an injury similar to the one that shut down Portland's Sebastian Telfair for 12 games. How valuable is Paul? Keep an eye on the Hornets this week. With Paul they were the league's biggest surprise; without him, they could bottom out pretty quickly.
2 2 Channing Frye
Channing Frye, F/C, Knicks (14.9 ppg, 53.2 FG%)
Frye is aggressive. Wait, let me rephrase: Frye is very aggressive. In addition to a feathery touch from the perimeter, Frye continues to be fearless underneath, throwing down some thunderous dunks this past week. Puzzlingly, Frye remains a reserve on a Knicks team that last week announced it was going to commit to its young players for the rest of the season.
3 5 Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut, C, Milwaukee (2.1 apg, 53.1 FG%)
Bogut is as advertised, which is to say he's a young Vlade Divac. He's also peaking at a time when many rookies (especially big men) begin to hit the wall; over the last three games he's averaged 11.6 points and 9.0 rebounds. Poor free throw shooting might be contributing to his willingness to settle for the outside shot too often.
4 3 Charlie Villanueva
Charlie Villanueva, F, Raptors (12.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
The only thing keeping Villanueva from moving up is his tendency to put up the occasional clunker. How does six points on 3-for-11 shooting sound to you? Villanueva was a key contributor in the Raptors recent five-game win streak, but he needs to avoid games -- like the aforementioned one in New Jersey -- in which he is completely ineffective.
5 NR Nate Robinson
Nate Robinson, G, Knicks (9.0 ppg, 2.9 apg)
Robinson's stock is on the rise now that he has settled into the starting lineup, but his inconsistencies will probably land him in Larry Brown's doghouse at some point this season. Robinson is the definition of a tweener, a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body. But his scoring totals have gone up every month and Brown likes the energy he brings to the starting lineup.
6 NR Ike Diogu
Ike Diogu, F/C, Warriors (64.0 FG%, 15.9 mpg)
Talk about your rapid rises. Diogu has gone from the injured list to the untouchable one. His strong play has made Troy Murphy expendable and has given GM Chris Mullin a plethora of new options to choose from should he decide a deal needs to be made. Here's a scary thought: Diogu is just rounding into game shape.
7 4 Deron Williams
Deron Williams, G, Utah (10.9 ppg, 4.5 apg)
Williams' numbers dipped in December, but he has shown signs of returning to form. He scored 33 points in wins over Detroit and the Lakers last week. One reason for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to find time for Williams: he's averaged 11.3 points against conference opponents.
8 7 Sarunas Jasikevicius
Sarunas Jasikevicius, G, Pacers (9.2 ppg, 39.6 3FG%)
Like the rest of Indiana, Jasikevicius is biding his time waiting for the Ron Artest saga to reach its conclusion. Jasikevicius isn't going to win a lot of games for the Pacers, but he won't be the reason they lose them either. While his scoring has been on the rise, his assists (2.9) need to improve if he wants to play the point.
9 8 Salim Stoudamire
Salim Stoudamire, G, Hawks (9.6 ppg, 46.0 FG%)
We're not quite ready to give up on Stoudamire, who has struggled the last four games, including a bagel against the Nets on Dec. 30. Stoudamire remains a streaky shooter whose scoring would be significantly aided by more trips to the free throw line, where he is shooting 88.7 percent.
10 NR Danny Granger
Danny Granger, F, Pacers (5.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
No Artest means more minutes for Granger, who has flourished in his new role as the Pacers starting forward. Granger is averaging 12.3 points since entering the lineup on Jan. 2 and has helped Indiana win three of the four contests since. With Granger averaging better than 30 minutes a night as a starter, look for those numbers to grow.[/code]

[Edited by - killa4luv on 01-11-2006 12:27 PM]

We have two of the top five rookies in this rating system! It's hard to spin that into something negative about our future!

our future is bright... let's just hope Isiah can hold off on making any crappy FA signings from here on out.

indeed! Hopefully they dont expand rosters to 44 guys like in football.

Posted by fishmike:

our future is bright... let's just hope Isiah can hold off on making any crappy FA signings from here on out.

indeed! Hopefully they dont expand rosters to 44 guys like in football.

Then Isiah could spend a $billion on a last place team!