Community Shootaround: Midseason NBA Awards
On Thursday, we checked in on the state of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player race. Today, with the second half now in full swing, we’re taking a look at where things stand with the rest of the league’s awards for 2020/21, starting with one that looks like a runaway…
Rookie of the Year
Since LaMelo Ball entered the Hornets‘ starting lineup at the start of February, he has averaged 19.8 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 6.1 RPG on .456/.437/.846 shooting in 16 games (33.7 MPG).
Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton has had a good year, and No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves) is among the dark-horse candidates to make a second-half push for this award, but as long as Ball stays healthy and doesn’t experience a major slump, it’s hard to see how he’ll lose this race.
Defensive Player of the Year
The Jazz have the NBA’s best record and have a two-time Defensive Player of the Year anchoring their defense, which makes Rudy Gobert the leading candidate for this award for the time being. If Utah holds onto the Western Conference’s top seed, voters may be inclined to give Gobert the nod at DPOY to make up for the fact that he and Donovan Mitchell are unlikely to get many top-three votes for the MVP award.
Still, there are plenty of other viable candidates here. Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will be in the running. Last year’s winner, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, could receive consideration again. And it’s a safe bet that Myles Turner‘s eye-popping block numbers (3.4 BPG so far) will help earn the Pacers center some votes.
Sixth Man of the Year
Like Gobert, Jordan Clarkson has the Jazz‘s league-best record working in his favor. He has also been the NBA’s top bench scorer so far this season, with 17.9 points per game on .447/.370/.967 shooting, making him the favorite for Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon is right behind Clarkson in scoring (17.8 PPG), but has missed some time with injuries this season and has started nearly half his games. Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Bulls forward Thaddeus Young, and Heat guard Goran Dragic could gain traction, but right now it looks like Clarkson’s award to lose.
Most Improved Player
Rockets center Christian Wood looked like the frontrunner for this award until he was sidelined by the ankle injury that has cost him the last 14 games. Now, Jerami Grant, the player the Pistons essentially signed in place of Wood, may be the favorite — he has nearly doubled his scoring average this season, from 12.0 PPG to 23.7 PPG.
A few Eastern All-Stars – Knicks forward Julius Randle, Bulls guard Zach LaVine, and Celtics wing Jaylen Brown – could make strong cases for this award, as could Boucher, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and multiple Spurs youngsters. If Randle or LaVine helps his team lock up a playoff spot, it’d make a compelling case, but Grant’s ability to rack up big numbers on a rebuilding Detroit squad may give him the leg up.
Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year award often comes down to which team overcame the most obstacles and/or most significantly outperformed their preseason expectations. Based on those criteria, Doc Rivers (Sixers), Tom Thibodeau (Knicks), and James Borrego (Hornets) may be the best candidates in the East so far, while Quin Snyder (Jazz), Monty Williams (Suns), and Terry Stotts (Trail Blazers) deserve consideration in the West.
I don’t get a sense that there’s an overwhelming favorite for this award yet, so the second-half results will be crucial. If a team like the Spurs, Bulls, or Grizzlies has a strong second half, candidates like Gregg Popovich, Billy Donovan, and Taylor Jenkins could make plenty of voters’ ballots.
What do you think? Who would be your award-winners for 2020/21 so far, and who do you expect will ultimately take home the hardware? Which awards are the easiest and most difficult to pick a winner for at this point?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Shootaround: Midseason NBA MVP Check-In
Halfway through the NBA season, the 2020/21 Most Valuable Player race is shaping up to be a competitive one.
As David Purdum of ESPN details, Lakers forward LeBron James had been the betting favorite to win his fifth MVP award, but he was surpassed over the All-Star break by Sixers center Joel Embiid, who is the new frontrunner at Caesars Sportsbook. Embiid is followed closely by LeBron and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
All three All-Stars have compelling MVP cases. Embiid hasn’t played enough games in past seasons to warrant serious consideration, but he has missed just six of Philadelphia’s first 36 games this season and is posting the best numbers of his career — 30.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 3.3 APG, with an outstanding .521/.416/.856 shooting line.
Embiid is getting to the free throw line more than any other NBA player (11.6 times per game), has anchored a top-five defense, and is the best player on the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. His on/off-court numbers offer a clear-cut picture of his value, as the 76ers have a +11.1 net rating when he plays, compared to -6.3 when he doesn’t.
Of course, Embiid isn’t the only player whose team crates when he’s off the court. The Lakers are a +9.1 when James plays and a -4.4 when he doesn’t. And LeBron, at age 36, is still improbably putting up his usual monster numbers, including 25.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 7.8 APG on 50.9% shooting. He has helped keep the Lakers (and their top-ranked defense) afloat despite Anthony Davis‘ recent absence, and L.A.’s 24-13 record puts the club just a half-game back of Philadelphia.
The Nuggets’ net rating is about 10 points higher when Jokic is on the court, and the big man is showing off the kind of offensive game rarely seen from a center — in addition to his impressive scoring (27.1 PPG) and rebounding (11.0 RPG) numbers, Jokic is averaging an eye-popping 8.6 assists per contest and is knocking down 41.8% of his three-point attempts.
The Nuggets are currently sixth in the West, and if that doesn’t improve, it’ll hurt Jokic’s case, but Denver was rolling before the All-Star break and is only 2.5 games back of the third-seeded Lakers.
Embiid, James, and Jokic look like the MVP frontrunners for now, but none of them are running away with the award and there’s plenty of time for others to enter the mix. According to Purdum, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Warriors guard Stephen Curry, and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo make up the next tier of betting favorites.
It’s hard to imagine Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert receiving serious consideration, even if the Jazz hold the No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, the Nets are knocking on the door of the East’s No. 1 seed, but Kevin Durant will probably miss too much time to get a ton of MVP votes, and James Harden‘s case will be hurt by his start to the season in Houston. But Harden deserves a look, as do Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard.
In a shortened season, things could change quickly. Injuries, hot streaks, and slumps could shake up the race in the coming weeks. The power of narrative shouldn’t be understated either, as some voters may like the idea of LeBron getting a fifth MVP award, while others may gravitate toward a first-time winner like Embiid or Jokic.
What do you think? Who has been the NBA’s Most Valuable Player so far? And do you think that same player will win the award at season’s end?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Community Shootaround: Utah Jazz
The team with the best record in the NBA gets precious little respect.
The Jazz reached the All-Star break ahead of the pack in the rugged Western Conference but no one seems to take them seriously. Back in January, TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal refused to give Donovan Mitchell the superstar label, claiming that Mitchell doesn’t impact the game beyond scoring.
When it came time to choose sides in the NBA All-Star draft last week, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were the last two picks by Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
“There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz,” James claimed. “You guys got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games. Never.”
Mitchell was not pleased by the perceived insult.
The best way for the Jazz to respond is to finish what they started. The Jazz have been a playoff team the last four seasons. They got knocked out in the first round the last two years after getting eliminated in the conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons.
Last season, Mitchell tried to will his team past Denver, averaging 36.3 PPG in an epic seven-game series, but the Jazz came up just short in Game 7.
Utah didn’t have Bojan Bogdanovic in that series due to a wrist injury. Otherwise, the Jazz have virtually the same rotation as they did at the end of last year. Their chemistry makes them tough to beat in the regular season but the postseason is a different animal, when the biggest stars shine.
That brings us to our topic of the day: Can the Jazz finally overcome their recent history and make a deep playoff run? Or is the team with the best record in the NBA destined for another early-round flameout?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Community Shootaround: Checking In On Eastern Playoff Race
When we checked in on the Western playoff race on Wednesday, we suggested that there were a few clear-cut tiers within the conference, including 10 teams that look like the top contenders to make the postseason or the play-in tournament.
The Eastern Conference playoff race is far more muddled, but there are at least three playoff locks and legit contenders at the top of the conference, where the Sixers (24-12) are hanging onto a half-game lead over the Nets (24-13) and a two-game lead over the Bucks (22-14).
Philadelphia is positioned to further upgrade its roster at the trade deadline, while Brooklyn and Milwaukee have played well despite lengthy absences for Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday, respectively. As long as all three teams stay relatively healthy in the second half, it seems pretty safe to assume they’ll secure home court advantage in round one.
After that top group, things get messy. The Celtics (19-17) currently hold the fourth seed, but they’re only separated from the 11th-seeded Hawks (16-20) by four games. In between those two teams, the Knicks (19-18), Heat (18-18), Hornets (17-18), Raptors (17-19), Bulls (16-18), and Pacers (16-19) are all jockeying for position — it wasn’t uncommon in recent days for a team to jump or fall four or five spots in the standings based on the outcome of a single night’s games.
Entering the season, the Celtics, Heat, Raptors, and Pacers were viewed as solid playoff contenders, with Atlanta expected to be in the mix as well. The Knicks, Hornets, and Bulls are the upstarts here, but career years from Julius Randle and Zach LaVine and a breakthrough performance from LaMelo Ball have helped make the case we should be taking them seriously.
With only five teams in the East above .500, most of the current lottery clubs realistically remain in the hunt for a play-in spot as well. The Wizards (14-20), Cavaliers (14-22), and Magic (13-23) don’t have good records, but Washington is within 1.5 games of the No. 10 seed, and even Orlando is only 3.5 games back.
With the All-Star break underway, we want to get your thoughts on the Eastern Conference playoff picture heading into the second half.
- Which team will grab the top seed?
- Which three teams will join the Sixers, Nets, and Bucks in the top six, assuring themselves of a guaranteed postseason spot?
- Which four teams will finish in the 7-10 range and participate in the play-in tournament?
- Will unexpected playoff contenders like the Knicks, Hornets, and Bulls wind up in the postseason?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your opinions on where things are headed in the East!
Community Shootaround: Checking In On Western Playoff Race
Given the truncated nature of the NBA’s 72-game 2020/21 season, the standings in each conference figure to significantly fluctuate all year long, with any multi-game winning streak or losing streak more likely than ever to shake up the playoff picture.
Still, as we near the halfway point of the regular season, the Western Conference standings are – at least for the time being – easy enough to split into tiers.
The 27-8 Jazz are in a tier of their own at the top. Their 3.5-game lead over their next-closest competitor is the biggest margin between any two teams in the conference besides the gap between the 14th and 15th seeds. That cushion should allow Utah to have a bad week or two without necessarily falling out of the top spot in the West.
The next tier is currently made up of three Pacific teams, the Suns (23-11), Lakers (24-12), and Clippers (24-13). They’re all separated by a half-game and are at least three games ahead of any other team in the conference.
The two Los Angeles teams were expected to be here, and they comfortably hold top-four seeds despite having star players (Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George) miss some time due to injuries. Phoenix, on the other hand, is something of an upstart — expectations had increased for the Suns following their 8-0 run at last summer’s bubble and the offseason acquisition of Chris Paul, but few expected them to hold the No. 2 seed in the West with the All-Star break around the corner.
The Western Conference’s third tier consists of six teams bunched together within two games of each other, from the No. 5 Spurs (18-13) to the No. 10 Mavericks (17-16). Others in this group include the Trail Blazers (19-14), Nuggets (20-15), Warriors (19-16), and Grizzlies (16-15).
It remains to be seen whether the NBA’s new play-in format for the final two postseason spots in each conference will make this race more or less interesting. Having six clubs vie for four playoff berths would’ve been entertaining in its own right, but the play-in tournament adds a new wrinkle.
Assuming the Jazz, Suns, Lakers, and Clippers hang onto playoff spots, that will only leave two guaranteed postseason berths for the six “third-tier” clubs. The teams that finish in the 7-10 range would enter the play-in tournament, where the Nos. 7 and 8 teams would need to win one game to advance, while the Nos. 9 and 10 teams would have to win two.
Entering the season, the Mavs, Blazers, and Nuggets were viewed as the likeliest playoff teams from this group, but San Antonio and Memphis have substantially exceeded expectations, and Golden State has admirably overcome the loss of Klay Thompson. If pressed, I’d probably consider Denver and Portland the favorites to claim the fifth and sixth seeds, but this should be a fascinating race.
A few clubs further down in the standings have the potential to shake up the postseason picture too, but it’s hard to get too enthusiastic about the 7-28 Timberwolves or the 11-22 Rockets, both of whom are mired in horrible slumps, or the 14-20 Thunder, who are ostensibly rebuilding. The 13-21 Kings have also been hit hard by a recent cold streak and have a lot of ground to make up.
That leaves the Pelicans (15-19), who are the most intriguing wild card outside the Western Conference’s current top 10. All-Star forward Zion Williamson and 2020 All-Star Brandon Ingram give New Orleans a dangerous one-two punch on offense, but the club will need to tighten up its defense to make a run — the Pelicans’ 116.1 defensive rating ranks 29th in the NBA.
With the first half of the NBA season about to come to an end, we want to get your thoughts on where things stand in the Western Conference playoff race.
- Will the Jazz finish the season as the No. 1 seed?
- Will the Jazz, Suns, Lakers, or Clippers fall out of the top four?
- Which teams do you view as the best bets to claim the top six seeds in the conference?
- Which four clubs do you expect to take part in the play-in tournament?
- Will the Pelicans or another team currently in the bottom five force their way into the top 10? If so, which team are they knocking out?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents!
Community Shootaround: Top Draft Pick
There’s help on the way for teams such as the Pistons and Timberwolves, who have the worst record in their respective conferences.
The 2021 NBA draft class is projected to be stronger than usual, particularly at the top where five players have emerged as potential All-Stars.
Most of the draft buzz has centered on Oklahoma State freshman guard Cade Cunningham. His college coach calls him a cross between Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway. He has also drawn comparisons to Luka Doncic.
Cunningham’s 40-point explosion against Oklahoma on Saturday further solidified his reputation as the draft’s top prospect (he only took eight shots and scored 15 points in a rematch on Monday). The 6’8’’ Cunningham is averaging 19.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG and could turn into a triple-double machine in the pros.
There are several other prospects who could legitimately argue they deserve to top the list. USC seven-footer Evan Mobley is averaging 16.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 2.9 BPG in his freshman season. Mobley is the prototype of a modern big man with elite rim protecting skills. Though the NBA has become an increasingly small-ball league, there’s always room for an athletic big man (Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis).
Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs hasn’t piled up the stats like Cunningham and Mobley but he’s got a good excuse – he’s surrounded by better players. The top prospect on the nation’s top-ranked team is averaging 13.9, PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.0 SPG. He could excel at either guard spot at the next level.
Then there’s the G League Ignite duo of Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga. Green is averaging 17.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 2.7 APG and shooting 37.9% beyond the arc while facing experienced professionals. Green has the ability to be an explosive scorer in the Zach LaVine mold and can terrorize defenders in the open court.
Kuminga, a 6’8’’ forward, has been better than advertised while averaging 16.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 2.8 APG. He has the physical tools to step right into a starting lineup and create mismatches at either forward spot. He has shown superior shot-creating ability in the Orlando bubble.
That leads us to our topic of the day: Should Cade Cunningham be the No. 1 pick of the draft or do you feel Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green or Jonathan Kuminga will be an even better pro?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Community Shootaround: Eastern All-Stars
Before the NBA announces its 2021 All-Star starters on Thursday night on TNT, we want to get your thoughts on which players deserve to make the All-Star teams this season. After focusing on the Western Conference on Wednesday, we’re turning our attention to the Eastern Conference today.
There likely won’t be much debate over the Eastern frontcourt starters, as Sixers center Joel Embiid, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nets forward Kevin Durant are all playing like legitimate MVP candidates. Durant has been limited to just 19 games due to various health issues and COVID-19 protocols, but I think that’s enough — he has played big minutes (35.7 MPG) in those contests.
The Eastern backcourt starters are harder to nail down. You could make a legitimate argument for Nets guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, Wizards guard Bradley Beal, and Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown. Beal is the NBA’s leading scorer and Irving isn’t far behind, but I actually favor Brown and Harden for the starting spots here.
Brown is the best defender of the group, and his scoring numbers (25.9 PPG on .506/.409/.768 shooting and a 31.4% usage rate) have been terrific. Harden, meanwhile, has been arguably the league’s best play-maker so far this season, averaging an eye-popping 11.8 assists per game to go along with his 24.3 PPG since arriving in Brooklyn.
All four guards belong in the game, so that leaves three frontcourt spots and two wild card slots to fill out the bench. I’d start with Tatum, a two-way star who is averaging career highs in PPG (25.8), RPG (7.0), and APG (4.7) to go along with his stout defense for the Celtics.
From here though, thinks get awfully tricky. Hawks guard Trae Young and Bulls guard Zach LaVine aren’t good defenders, but they’re enjoying elite offensive seasons. Young (26.5 PPG, 9.3 APG) has been the better play-maker, while LaVine has scored a little more, and has done so far more efficiently (28.5 PPG on .520/.437/.847 shooting). Both are strong candidates.
The fourth-seeded Pacers probably deserve to have a player in the game, and you could make a legitimate case for either Domantas Sabonis (21.5 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 5.7 APG) or Malcolm Brogdon (21.6 PPG and 6.6 APG).
Big men Bam Adebayo, Nikola Vucevic, and Julius Randle have been the most valuable players so far this season for the Heat, Magic, and Knicks, respectively. Adebayo anchors his team’s defense in a way the other two don’t, though his offensive numbers (19.9 PPG, 5.3 APG) don’t quite match Vucevic’s (23.4 PPG on .476/.414/.816 shooting) or Randle’s (23.2 PPG and 5.5 APG with a .407 3PT%).
Bucks forward Khris Middleton, Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, Pistons forward Jerami Grant, and Sixers guard Ben Simmons also deserve serious consideration as two-way impact players.
And while they probably won’t make the 12-man squad, Raptors guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, Sixers forward Tobias Harris, Hawks big man Clint Capela, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, Heat forward Jimmy Butler, and Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton each at least warrant a look and an honorable mention.
For now, my choices to fill out the Eastern squad would be LaVine, Young, Adebayo, and Middleton. LaVine is the East’s second-leading scorer; Young isn’t far behind him and his on/off-court numbers make a compelling case; Adebayo is one of the conference’s best interior defenders; and Middleton has been one of the NBA’s best shooters (.510/.442/.902).
Still, there are at least four or five other players whom I could comfortably sub into one of those spots and feel good about it. Leaving out guys like Randle, Grant, Simmons, and especially Sabonis (my last man out) is tough.
What do you think? Which 12 players would you pick for your Eastern Conference All-Star team? Which players would be the most difficult to omit?
Head to the comment section below to share your choices and your reasoning!
Community Shootaround: Western All-Stars
Voting for the NBA’s All-Star starters has now closed, and the league will reveal on TNT on Thursday night the 10 players who have been named starters for this year’s game, with an announcement on the All-Star reserves to follow next Tuesday.
Before that happens, we want to get your take on which 24 players deserve to make this year’s All-Star Game, starting today in the Western Conference.
This year’s Western Conference All-Stars, who will be represented by Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, have six clear frontrunners for the five starting spots.
Lakers star LeBron James, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard are the odds-on favorites to claim the three frontcourt openings, while Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic will vie for the two backcourt spots.
While it remains to be seen which five players will earn starting spots, it’s safe to say that all six will safely make the team. That leaves six other spots up for grabs.
The general consensus among Marc Stein of The New York Times, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, and Josh Robbins of The Athletic – all of whom made their picks this week – is that four of those spots will be claimed by Anthony Davis, Paul George, and the Jazz duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, which would make sense, given those players’ importance to the top three clubs in the conference.
After that, there’s little consensus. Stein and Robbins have Jazz guard Mike Conley nabbing one of the last two spots, while Stein and O’Connor each penciled in Suns guard Chris Paul. O’Connor also has Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making his team, while Robbins opted for Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan.
Suns guard Devin Booker, Pelicans forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, Rockets big man Christian Wood, and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant all merited consideration and/or honorable mention from Stein, O’Connor, and Robbins. Beyond that, it’s hard to find legitimate candidates whose cases haven’t been hurt by injuries or COVID-19, as is the case for Blazers guard CJ McCollum, among others.
Following the format of four guards, six frontcourt players, and two wild cards, my picks would be Curry, Doncic, LeBron, Jokic, and Kawhi in the starting lineup, with Lillard, Mitchell, Davis, George, Gobert, Paul, and DeRozan on the bench. If Davis remains sidelined through the All-Star break due to his calf injury, picking a frontcourt player to replace him would be tricky, but for now I’d lean toward Williamson.
What do you think? Which 12 Western Conference players would be on your All-Star squad for the 2020/21 season?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in!
Community Shootaround: Griffin, Drummond
Just two years ago, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond were the stars on a Pistons team that made the playoffs.
Griffin carried Detroit that season, averaging 24.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 5.4 APG, while his frontcourt partner averaged 17.3 PPG and a league-best 15.6 RPG.
Their careers remain on a parallel course but in a different way – both players have mutually agreed with their teams to sit out until a trade or a buyout can be arranged.
Griffin’s presence on the roster became an awkward situation for the Pistons, who are in full rebuild mode. Ideally, they’ll find a playoff contender willing to take Griffin off their hands. It will be an extremely tough sell, considering Griffin has lost his explosion after multiple knee surgeries and his max contract runs through next season, including a $39MM player option.
Most likely, the Pistons and Griffin will agree to a buyout and allow Griffin to hook onto a team that needs help at power forward.
Detroit practically gave Drummond away to the Cavaliers last season, rather than risk having him opt it and hamstring its rebuilding efforts.
Drummond will be headed to unrestricted free agency this offseason, making him somewhat easier to trade than Griffin.
When Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen in the James Harden multi-team blockbuster, the four-time rebounding champion became a very expendable part. The key will be matching up salaries comparable to the $28.75MM that Drummond is making this season.
That brings us to our topic of the day: Where do you think Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond will wind up playing the remainder of the season?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in. We look forward to your input.
Community Shootaround: Rookie Of The Year Race
Widely considered a strong contender to be picked No. 1 overall leading up to the 2020 draft, LaMelo Ball ultimately fell to No. 3, where he was snatched up by the Hornets. Now, less than two months into his rookie year, he’s showing why picking him first overall may have been the right move.
Through his first 26 games, Ball is leading all NBA rookies in PPG (14.3), APG (6.1), and SPG (1.4), and his 5.8 RPG ranks second only to James Wiseman‘s 6.1. Ball has been even better as of late, pouring in 21.6 PPG on .488/.440/.900 shooting to go along with 6.8 APG and 5.4 RPG in his last eight games.
That hot streak included Ball’s first NBA start, on February 1, and John Hollinger of The Athletic suggests it’s hard to imagine the rookie ever coming off the bench again. The 19-year-old has already improved by “leaps and bounds” since even the start of the season, according to Hollinger, who says Ball may already be the best player on Charlotte’s roster and looks fully capable of destroying the narrative that the 2020 draft didn’t have a superstar-caliber at the top of the class.
So far, Ball’s full-season numbers aren’t as impressive as those put up by Luka Doncic in 2018/19 or Ja Morant in ’19/20, but he’s quickly emerging as the overwhelming favorite to join those players in earning Rookie of the Year honors. Few other players from the 2020 class have had a major impact on their respective teams so far, and not many are in position to enter a starting lineup and take another huge leap forward like Ball has.
For now, Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton and Warriors big man Wiseman look like Ball’s top challengers for the Rookie of the Year award. Haliburton is averaging 12.0 PPG and 5.3 APG with a .455 3PT% off the bench for Sacramento, while Wiseman, who began the season as Golden State’s starting center, has recorded 12.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.3 BPG.
However, it’s hard to imagine Haliburton taking on a much greater role this season than the one he already has (he’s averaging 29.4 minutes per game), while Wiseman figures to experience some ups and downs as he continues to adjust to the NBA on a veteran-led squad competing for a playoff spot.
We want to know what you think. Are you already penciling in Ball as the probable Rookie of the Year winner, barring an injury? Or is this race still very much up in the air, with Haliburton and Wiseman in the mix along with other potential challengers like Anthony Edwards, Cole Anthony, and Immanuel Quickley?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!