Observations on the Mid-Season NBA Small Forward Rankings

Yesterday I posted my mid-season rankings of NBA small forwards.  I know that NBA fans who don't believe in such detailed statistical analysis will scoff at such rankings, especially when they see Carmelo Anthony ranked just one spot above Matt Barnes.  But to me these rankings tell a majority of the story about how a player is producing and where he ranks among other NBA players.  Notice I said a majority of the story.  Do I think Tayshaun Prince is better than Carmelo?  No.  But I do think the stats provide a very strong base for starting those types of discussions.  I also think they are a good vehicle for tracking player trends.

Photo source: CT Snow, via Wikimedia Commons

So, with that said, here are my observations:

• As I mentioned yesterday, I find it very interesting that Carmelo is ranked one notch below Wilson Chandler.  For obvious reasons there has been a lot of discussion about Carmelo's value.  Henry Abbott does a great job of analyzing Carmelo's value on ESPN's TrueHoop blog.  The key category that pushes Chandler ahead of Carmelo is the Offensive Rating, or points per 100 possessions.  Carmelo beats out Chandler in each of the four other categories.
• No surprise that LeBron tops the list.  He leads in three of the five categories.  He finished the 2009-10 season in first as well. 
• Paul Pierce has had a great season so far.  I'm surprised how close he is to LeBron.  Those two are clearly a level above the rest.
• The biggest positive surprises to me are Rudy Gay, Mike Dunleavy and Shawne Williams.
• I questioned the Grizzlies' signing of Gay to a max deal but he really has produced so far this season.
• The biggest negative surprises to me are Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum and Corey Maggette.
• The biggest jumpers from the final 2009-10 rankings are C.J. Miles (up 36), Chris Douglas-Roberts (up 32) and Wilson Chandler (up 28).
• The biggest droppers from the final 2009-10 rankings are Jamario Moon (down 36), Corey Maggette (down 21) and Travis Outlaw (down 20).
• Paul George is the highest rated rookie at 28.
• New Jersey and Cleveland are getting the worst production from the small forward position.  New Jersey has Travis Outlaw ranked 53rd and Stephen Graham ranked 57th.  Cleveland has Jamario Moon ranked at 54.

What jumps out at you from the small forward rankings?  Share your observations by posting a comment below.

2010-11 Mid-Season NBA Small Forward Rankings

With many NBA teams at or soon to cross the midway point of their season it's time to take a good look at who's producing and who's not. After the 2009-10 season I created a cumulative ranking system that included five different types of advanced statistical analysis. If you'd like to take a look at those ratings I suggest you start with the 2009-10 NBA Point Guard Rankings. That post explains the ranking system I used.

For 2010-11 I've changed the rating system up a bit by substituting the Estimated Wins Added analysis for Wins Above Replacement Player. So the five evaluations utilized in the ranking system are:

• John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Ratings and Estimated Wins Added at ESPN
• Simple Ratings at 82 Games
• Offensive and Defensive Ratings at Basketball-Reference.com

Another thing I've done that will shed much more light on my process and refute some of the questions of its validity is to include all of the stats and ranks in the five categories.  To get the final rank I add the totals of the five separate ranks.  A lower total score is better so I list them in ascending order.

Because of all the fanfare around the potential trade of Carmelo Anthony I decided to start my midseason rankings with the small forwards.  As a Syracuse alum I am a big Carmelo fan, but it is interesting to note that at number six the Knicks' Wilson Chandler currently ranks one notch above Carmelo.

. PLAYER PER Rank EWA Rank Simple Rank O Rat. Rank D Rat Rank Totals Final Rank . LeBron James, MIA 25.91 1 11.6 1 14.5 1 114 7 101 2 12 1 . Paul Pierce, BOS 20.71 3 6.9 3 11.3 2 119 3 101 2 13 2 . Kevin Durant, OKC 23.98 2 9.5 2 9.2 4 114 7 108 29 44 3 . Rudy Gay, MEM 18.99 5 6.5 4 10.5 3 109 21 105 15 48 4 . Tayshaun Prince, DET 16.51 9 3.9 8 1.4 19 111 15 103 5 56 5 . Wilson Chandler, NY 17.12 7 4.5 6 6.4 7 114 7 109 33 60 6 . Carmelo Anthony, DEN 20.43 4 5.5 5 7.5 5 105 30 107 25 69 7 . Matt Barnes, LAL 14.8 14 1.6 22 1.7 17 113 13 103 5 71 8 . Luol Deng, CHI 14.58 17 3.2 10 2.7 15 107 25 103 5 72 9 . Mike Dunleavy, IND 14.19 23 2 18 5.1 8 111 15 104 11 75 10 . Danny Granger, IND 16.58 8 4 7 3.3 11 102 38 104 11 75 10 . Andrei Kirilenko, UTAH 15.51 12 3.1 11 2.7 15 111 15 107 25 78 12 . Richard Jefferson, SA 14.29 21 2.4 15 1.1 20 116 5 106 23 84 13 . C.J. Miles, UTAH 16.47 10 2.5 14 7 6 105 30 107 25 85 14 . Grant Hill, PHX 17.16 6 3.6 9 2.8 13 115 6 114 55 89 15 . Gerald Wallace, CHA 14.27 22 2.1 17 4.6 9 102 38 105 15 101 16 . Shawn Marion, DAL 15.87 11 2.8 13 -3.2 38 105 30 104 11 103 17 . Marvin Williams, ATL 13.76 28 1.5 23 0.1 23 114 7 106 23 104 18 . Caron Butler, DAL 14.61 16 1.8 21 4.4 10 99 48 105 15 110 19 . James Jones, MIA 11.63 41 0.5 35 1.5 18 130 1 105 15 110 19 . Jared Dudley, PHX 14.82 13 2 18 -0.4 24 117 4 113 51 110 19 . Chris Douglas-Roberts, MIL 13.36 30 0.8 29 -0.9 27 109 21 103 5 112 22 . Nicolas Batum, POR 14.39 19 2.3 16 -3.3 40 114 7 109 33 115 23 . Dorell Wright, GS 14.65 15 3.1 11 -0.5 26 108 23 112 49 124 24 . Hedo Turkoglu, ORL 14.17 24 2 18 -4.1 43 113 13 108 29 127 25 . Carlos Delfino, MIL 12.68 34 0.3 40 3.2 12 103 37 103 5 128 26 . Shane Battier, HOU 12.5 37 1.3 24 0.7 21 111 15 109 33 130 27 . Paul George, IND 14.55 18 0.5 35 -7.2 51 106 28 99 1 133 28 . Shawne Williams, NY 14.39 19 0.7 33 -5 47 120 2 109 33 134 29 . Chase Budinger, HOU 14.14 25 1.3 24 -0.4 24 107 25 110 39 137 30 . Ron Artest, LAL 11.84 40 0.8 29 -2 31 108 23 105 15 138 31 . Cartier Martin, WSH 13.07 31 0.3 40 2.8 13 110 20 110 39 143 32 . Vladimir Radmanovic, GS 14.08 26 1.1 27 -3.1 37 111 15 110 39 144 33 . Reggie Williams, GS 13.56 29 1.3 24 -2.8 35 114 7 116 57 152 34 . Corey Maggette, MIL 13.82 27 1 28 -4.4 45 102 38 105 15 153 35 . Omri Casspi, SAC 12.56 35 0.8 29 -2.7 34 106 28 108 29 155 36 . Julian Wright, TOR 12.7 33 0.4 38 0.4 22 105 30 110 39 162 37 . Al Thornton, WSH 12.46 38 0.8 29 -0.9 27 107 25 111 46 165 38 . Trevor Ariza, NO 10.84 42 0.2 42 -3 36 94 54 101 2 176 39 . Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, MIL 9.17 48 -0.6 51 -2.3 33 100 46 103 5 183 40 . Al-Farouq Aminu, LAC 12.02 39 0.5 35 -4.1 43 96 50 107 25 192 41 . Austin Daye, DET 12.95 32 0.6 34 -6.4 50 102 38 110 39 193 42 . Martell Webster, MIN 12.55 36 0.4 38 -3.8 42 105 30 113 51 197 43 . James Posey, IND 8.7 52 -0.6 51 -5.7 49 102 38 104 11 201 44 . Quincy Pondexter, NO 7.54 55 -0.5 49 -3.2 38 100 46 105 15 203 45 . Dominic McGuire, CHA 9.41 46 -0.2 45 -7.7 53 96 50 105 15 209 46 . Mickael Pietrus, ORL 8.72 51 -0.6 51 -3.4 41 102 38 108 29 210 47 . Donte Greene, SAC 8.86 49 -0.4 46 -1.5 29 91 56 109 33 213 48 . Wesley Johnson, MIN 9.62 45 -0.5 49 -2 31 104 36 114 55 216 49 . Linas Kleiza, TOR 10.51 44 0 43 -1.9 30 96 50 113 51 218 50 . Ryan Gomes, LAC 8.75 50 -1 54 -4.8 46 105 30 110 39 219 51 . Rodney Carney, GS 10.76 43 0 43 -8.5 55 102 38 113 51 230 52 . Travis Outlaw, NJ 8.62 53 -1.2 55 -5 47 96 50 110 39 244 53 . Jamario Moon, CLE 9.22 47 -0.4 46 -8 54 94 54 111 46 247 54 . Maurice Evans, ATL 6.39 56 -1.2 55 -8.9 56 99 48 109 33 248 55 . Gordon Hayward, UTAH 8.28 54 -0.4 46 -9.5 57 101 45 112 49 251 56 . Stephen Graham, NJ 4.6 57 -1.5 57 -7.2 51 88 57 111 46 268 57

I'll soon post some additional observations, including the biggest gainers and droppers from last season.

In the mean time let me know your thoughts - what are the biggest surprises to you on the list?

NBA Rookies Progress Report - Beyond the 2010 Draft First Round Picks

This is the final entry of my four part series evaluating NBA rookies through the first couple months of the 2010-11 season.  My first post looked at picks 1-10 of the 2010 NBA Draft.  My second post examined the productivity of picks 11-20.  The third post highlighted the early performance of picks 21-30. 

In this post I'll spotlight those NBA rookies from the second round or previous drafts who have seen solid playing time so far this season.

Photo source: Zereshk

Tiago Splitter - San Antonio Spurs
Games - 27
PER - 15.0
Simple - -6.0
Offensive Rating - 110
Defensive Rating - 103

Splitter did not have the instant impact some expected but has been productive.  He's one of only a handful of rookies with a positive Offensive/Defensive differential.  He's shooting 50% and averaging 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and one block per 36 minutes.  Like many of the other frontline rookies, he is struggling with personal fouls.

Landry Fields - New York Knicks
Games - 36
PER - 14.8
Simple - +6.3
Offensive Rating - 119
Defensive Rating - 108

Nobody could have predicted the heavy contributions this second round pick has provided the Knicks.  Fields is by far the leader in Simple Rating among rookies and like Splitter, he's one of a small number with a positive Offensive/Defensive differential.  His True Shooting Percentage is second only to Semih Erden among rookies.  He's shooting 37.6% from behind the arc.  His defensive rebounding percentage is second to Anthony Randolph among Knicks.  That's really impressive considering he is an off guard. 

Gary Neal - San Antonio Spurs
Games - 37
PER - 14.0
Simple - -3.1
Offensive Rating - 111
Defensive Rating - 106

Neal has essentially come out of nowhere to be a solid contributor to San Antonio's excellent start.  Maybe the most impressive of Neal's stats is his 7.8% turnover ratio.  That's the best turnover ratio of every Spurs rotation player besides Matt Bonner.  Neal is also averaging 16.9 points per 36 minutes while knocking down 38.9% of his three pointers.

Gary Forbes - Denver Nuggets
Games - 33
PER - 13.7
Simple - -8.0
Offensive Rating - 106
Defensive Rating - 111

Here's another rookie shooting a solid three-point percentage (38.7) who's made some nice contributions to his team.  Forbes ranks ninth among rookies in PER and his 16.6 points per 36 minutes is fourth on the Nuggets.

Omer Asik - Chicago Bulls
Games - 37
PER - 11.4
Simple - -1.8
Offensive Rating - 105
Defensive Rating - 97

In his first year in the NBA after being picked in the second round by Portland in the 2008 draft, Asik has contributed good minutes for Chicago.  His Defensive Rating is stellar, he's shooting 56.5% and he's averaging 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes.  On the negative side, he's also averaging 2.3 turnovers and six fouls per 36 minutes.

Eugene Jeter - Sacramento Kings
Games - 22
PER - 11.1
Simple - -0.6
Offensive Rating - 97
Defensive Rating - 111

Jeter honed his game in Europe before coming back to the United States.  He's put in some decent minutes as a backup point guard.  At 38.4% he's struggling to shoot the ball well, but he's also averaging a Kings high 7.5 assists per 36 minutes and his assist rate is better than that of John Wall. 

Semih Erden - Boston Celtics
Games - 26
PER - 10.2
Simple - -11.0
Offensive Rating - 107
Defensive Rating - 101

Injuries in the post have forced the Celtics to use Erden much more than they planned to in the early going of the 2010-11 NBA season.  He hasn't set the world on fire but he has been decent.  On the positive side, he's shooting 59.7% and averaging 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes.  On the negative, he's only pulling down 6.3 rebounds per 36 minutes while also turning the ball over 2.1 times and committing 6.2 fouls over that time period.

Nikola Pekovic - Minnesota Timberwolves
Games - 24
PER - 10.0
Simple - -8.2
Offensive Rating - 97
Defensive Rating - 112

The tag on Pekovic as he came into the NBA was that he was good on offense and unproven on defense.  So far he's struggled on both sides of the floor.  He's shooting just 43.8% while averaging 13.1 points, 8.1 boards, 1.8 blocks and 7.3 fouls per 36 minutes.  He has been an impressive offensive rebounder.  His offensive rebound percentage of 12.3 is third on the Timberwolves and only two percentage points below Kevin Love.

Ish Smith - Houston Rockets
Games - 14
PER - 9.3
Simple -  -8.3
Offensive Rating - 92
Defensive Rating - 110

This is another case of a rookie getting more playing time than expected because of injuries.  Smith does have the best rookie assist ratio.  He's shooting a poor 40% and averaging 2.8 turnovers per 36 minutes.  But, he's also averaging a respectable 6.6 assists and 1.5 steals per 36 minutes.

Timofey Mozgov - New York Knicks
Games - 26
PER - 5.4
Simple - -13.4
Offensive Rating - 79
Defensive Rating - 106

It was odd to see Mozgov starting early in the season for the Knicks because he clearly wasn't ready for that role.  His advanced statistics above are horrid.  More specific breakdowns of his statistics are no better - he's shooting a dreadful 37.3% and averaging 3.6 turnovers and seven fouls per 36 minutes.

When you look at the draftees along with the others in the NBA rookie class of 2010-11 what surprises you most?  Who are the biggest disappointments?  Post a comment and let me know your thoughts.

NBA Rookies Progress Report - Picks 21-30

This is part three of my series analyzing the production of NBA rookies through the first couple months of the season.  My first post looked at picks 1-10 of the 2010 NBA Draft.  My second post examined the productivity of picks 11-20.  In this post we'll feature picks 21-30.

Photo source: SD Dirk

21.  Craig Brackins - Philadelphia 76ers
Brackins has played in only two games for the Sixers.  However, he has demonstrated some skill in the D-League, averaging 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game for the Springfield Armor.

22.  Elliot Williams - Portland Trail Blazers
Due to injuries in both knees Williams will not play a minute for the Blazers in 2010-11.  He had surgery on his right knee in mid-November and will have surgery on his left knee this month.

23.  Trevor Booker - Washington Wizards
Games - 27
PER - 12.8
Simple - -3.7
Offensive Rating - 106
Defensive Rating - 108

With an average of 12.7 minutes per game, Booker has not played a lot but he has put in productive minutes.  He's 10th among rookies with a 12.8 PER.  He's shooting 51.2% while averaging 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per 36 minutes.

24.  Damion James - New Jersey Nets
Games - 17
PER - 7.0
Simple - -1.1
Offensive Rating - 78
Defensive Rating - 105

James has been good on defense, holding his opponent to a PER of just 7.9.  But, at 35.0%, he is struggling to put the ball in the hoop.  He's currently out until approximately mid-February with a broken foot.

25.  Dominique Jones - Dallas Mavericks
Having played sparingly in 10 games, Jones has not yet gotten consistent burn.  He's shooting an atrocious 22.2%, but that is only on 18 shots.  He's also averaging a rough 3.3 turnovers per 36 minutes.

26.  Quincy Pondexter - New Orleans Hornets
Games - 26
PER - 8.8
Simple - -4.2
Offensive Rating - 105
Defensive Rating - 105

Impressively, Pondexter does have a neutral Offensive/Defensive differential.  He's also shooting a respectable 47.5% from the field and 46.2% from behind the arc. 

27.  Jordan Crawford - Atlanta Hawks
Crawford has only played a total of 109 minutes in 10 games but he has shot well from three-point range (36.8%).  He's averaging a team worst 3.0 turnovers per 36 minutes

28.  Greivis Vasquez - Memphis Grizzlies
Games - 29
PER - 7.4
Simple - -9.3
Offensive Rating - 92
Defensive Rating - 109

Joining rookie teammate Xavier Henry with a current PER under 8.0, Vasquez is shooting poorly from the field at 37.0% and averaging nearly three turnovers per 36 minutes.  On the positive side, he's second behind Mike Conley on the Grizzlies in assists per 36 minutes at 5.9.

29.  Daniel Orton - Orlando Magic
Orton is yet to make his NBA debut because of knee injuries.  He may begin practicing again in February.

30.  Lazar Hayward - Minnesota Timberwolves
Games - 17
PER - 7.6
Simple - -12.8
Offensive Rating - 92
Defensive Rating - 112

Hayward was a surprise pick by the T-Wolves to end the first round.  He's been dreadful shooting the ball and is currently at 22.5%.  At 6.7 boards per 36 minutes he is rebounding well for a wing.

Taken as a whole this group has had little impact thus far in their first year in the NBA.  Booker and Pondexter have been the most productive.

Any surprises to you among this group of 10 rookies?  Which one do you think will end up having the best NBA career?

NBA Rookies Progress Report - Picks 11-20

This is part two of my series analyzing the production of NBA rookies through the first couple months of the season.  My first post looked at picks 1-10 of the 2010 NBA Draft.  Now it's time to check in on picks 11-20.

11.  Cole Aldrich - Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder had hoped that Aldrich would fill their need for defensive toughness on the block but he has been slow to raise his play to an NBA level.  He's played in only seven games and has gotten more than ten minutes of PT in only three of those games.  He was sent down to the D-League this week for the second time this season.

Photo source: rrescot

12.  Xavier Henry - Memphis Grizzlies
Games - 28
PER - 7.5
Simple - -5.7
Offensive Rating - 97
Defensive Rating - 111

Henry has started 16 of the 28 games he's played for Memphis, but with a 7.5 PER he hasn't been very productive.  One of his strengths coming into the NBA was supposed to be three-point shooting but he's knocking down less than 12% of the shots he's taking behind the arc.  He's also shooting a rough 41.3% overall.

13.  Ed Davis - Toronto Raptors
Games - 14
PER - 14.4
Simple - -10.0
Offensive Rating - 116
Defensive Rating - 108

After missing the first month of the season Davis hit the court and has been productive for the Raptors, posting a 14.4 PER, fifth best among rookies.  He's also got a positive Offensive/Defensive Rating differential.  He and Derrick Favors are the only two qualifying rookies in the top 20 picks who can say that.  Additionally, he's shooting a very respectable 52.2% and averaging 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes.

14.  Patrick Patterson - Houston Rockets

Expected to be an early contributor, Patterson has found it hard to get any burn in Houston.  He's logged only 15 minutes over three games.

15.  Larry Sanders - Milwaukee Bucks
Games - 23
PER - 11.1
Simple - -3.8
Offensive Rating - 89
Defensive Rating - 96

His playing time has been sporadic, but Sanders has been good on the defensive end while on the the court.  His 96 Defensive Rating is the best among top 20 draft picks.  In fact, he's the only one with a Defensive Rating below 100.  He's also averaging a spectacular 3.4 blocks per 36 minutes.  His big improvement area - shooting, he's putting only 38.2% of his shots through the net.

16.  Luke Babbitt - Portland Trail Blazers
Games - 12
PER - -0.8
Simple - -5.0
Offensive Rating - 63
Defensive Rating - 109

Babbitt has played a total of 67 minutes in parts of 12 games and he's been awful.  He's posting an amazingly low -0.8 PER and shooting a dreadful 28%.

17.  Kevin Seraphin - Washington Wizards
Games - 12
PER - 7.0
Simple - -10.7
Offensive Rating - 86
Defensive Rating - 109

Here's another player who is having trouble getting things right on the offensive end.  Seraphin is shooting just 34.3% from the field.  But he's pulling down offensive rebounds at an astounding rate.  He's grabbing more than 21% of the rebounds available to him while on offense.  He's also tied for the Wizards lead in rebounds per 36 minutes with 10.9.

18.  Eric Bledsoe - Los Angeles Clippers
Games - 33
PER - 10.2
Simple - -5.8
Offensive Rating - 93
Defensive Rating - 110

Bledsoe has played in all 33 Clippers games and has started 22 of them because of the injury to Baron Davis.  He's averaging a solid 6.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per 36 minutes.  As you'd expect from a rookie point guard, turnovers are a bit of a problem - he's averaging 3.7 per 36 minutes.

19.  Avery Bradley - Boston Celtics
Games - 11
PER - -3.2
Simple - -14.0
Offensive Rating - 55
Defensive Rating - 100

After not touching the floor for much of the first month, Bradley is just starting to get about six minutes per game in the second half of December.  It hasn't been pretty.  He's shooting a horrid 23.5% and averaging 4.1 turnovers per 36 minutes.

20.  James Anderson - San Antonio Spurs

Anderson got off to a quick start, playing in six of the Spurs first seven games.  A stress fracture in his foot took him off the court but word is that he may be able to start practicing this week.  He played quite well before the injury, knocking down 50% of his three-pointers, averaging 14.3 points per 36 minutes and posting a positive Offensive/Defensive Rating differential.

Just like the first 10 players taken in the 2010 NBA Draft, this next group of 10 is struggling as a whole to make meaningful contributions.  Davis and Bledsoe have risen above the rest while Henry and Sanders have earned PT and been some what productive.  The Spurs also have to be delighted in what they saw in Anderson before the foot injury.  In the next post I'll highlight picks 21-30.

NBA Rookies Progress Report - Picks 1-10

As 2010 comes to a close and NBA teams cross over their 30th game of the season, we've got at least a hint of what the rookie year is going to look like for those players picked in the 2010 NBA Draft.  This will be the first post of a series in which we'll analyze the statistics of NBA rookies.

Photo source: bikeride

If you've read the blog before you know that I like to focus on advanced statistics when evaluating players.  Here are the ones I'll specifically reference:

• John Hollinger of ESPN's PER, or Player Efficiency Rating.  In short, a player's PER is a rating of their per minute productivity.  The average PER in the NBA is always 15.0.
• The Simple Rating of 82games.com.  This rating factors in a player's PER, the PER of the player they are guarding, the player's plus-minus rating when they are in the game and the plus-minus rating of their team when they are not in the game.
• The Offensive Rating and Defensive Rating on Basketball-Reference.com.  The Offensive Rating is how many points the player scores per 100 possessions and the Defensive Rating is how many points the player allows per 100 possessions.

1.  John Wall - Washington Wizards
Games - 16
PER - 16.6
Simple - -0.4
Offensive Rating - 101
Defensive Rating - 108

A knee injury has limited Wall to playing in just 16 of the Wizards' first 28 games.  He has a respectable PER at 16.6, best among all rookies not named Blake Griffin.  He's struggling to find his shot (39.9% field goal percentage), especially from three-point range (32.6%).  To the positive, he's averaging 15.5 points, 8.3 assists and 2.1 steals per 36 minutes.  But as you might expect from a lightning fast guard who's finding his way in the NBA, he's also averaging 3.5 turnovers per 36 minutes. 

2.  Evan Turner - Philadelphia 76ers
Games - 28
PER - 8.0
Simple - -6.3
Offensive Rating - 89
Defensive Rating - 105

Turner has not been the instant contributor that he was expected to be when the Sixers took him with the second pick in the draft.  You can see by his stats above that he's finding it hard to be productive on the next level.  At 39.0%, he's shooting even worse than Wall.  He is averaging 6.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, which is good for a wing.

3.  Derrick Favors - New Jersey Nets
Games - 29
PER - 14.1
Simple - +0.5
Offensive Rating - 112
Defensive Rating - 106

He's continually named as the key piece to a potential Nets' acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, and for good reason.  Despite putting up a slightly below average 14.1 PER, Favors is in positive territory on the Simple Rating and on his Offensive to Defensive differential.  He's the only rookie on this list with those credentials.  He's shooting 55.6% and has the best offensive rebounding rate of all qualifying rookies, including Blake Griffin.  The only challenge - he's averaging 6.2 personal fouls per 36 minutes.

4.  Wesley Johnson - Minnesota Timberwolves
Games - 31
PER - 9.9
Simple - -0.3
Offensive Rating - 105
Defensive Rating - 114

The rookie from Syracuse has logged a lot of minutes for the Timberwolves but has not yet found the magic he had in college.  He has respectable shooting numbers - 45.3% from the field and 37.3% from behind the arc.  But as you can see from his statistics above, he is not making a big impact on the game.

5.  DeMarcus Cousins - Sacramento Kings
Games - 27
PER - 12.2
Simple - -9.8
Offensive Rating - 91
Defensive Rating - 106

Already proving to be a challenge off the court, Cousins has also shown that he's got a lot of work to do on the court.  To the positive, he does lead the Kings with a scoring average of 16.6 per 36 minutes.  He's also pulling in 10.7 rebounds per 36 minutes.  On the negative side, he's shooting just 41.3% and averaging 3.7 turnovers per 36 minutes.

6.  Ekpe Udoh - Golden State Warriors

Udoh has just started to play after breaking his wrist over the summer.

7.  Greg Monroe - Detroit Pistons
Games - 28
PER - 12.0
Simple - -3.8
Offensive Rating - 101
Defensive Rating - 108

Monroe has been more effective since starting to play consistent minutes in December.  At 44.4%, he's struggling with his shot but is averaging a decent 9.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.  I expected the passing skills he showed in college to translate to the NBA but they have not yet.

8.  Al-Farouq Aminu - Los Angeles Clippers
Games - 30
PER - 11.4
Simple - -3.0
Offensive Rating - 95
Defensive Rating - 107

Having shown flashes of excellence, especially when he was playing big minutes in November, Aminu's NBA career is off to a good start.  He's had some of the same offensive efficiency and defensive issues as the other rookies - he's averaging 3.4 turnovers per 36 minutes and shooting just 43.4% from the floor.  But he's also shooting 46.7% from three-point range and leading the Clippers with 1.6 steals per 36 minutes.

9.  Gordon Hayward - Utah Jazz
Games - 24
PER - 5.0
Simple - -23.7
Offensive Rating - 89
Defensive Rating - 110

Hayward's numbers are ridiculously bad, especially his -23.7 Simple Rating.  His shooting was supposed to be his strong suit but he's knocking down only 40.4% of his shots.

10.  Paul George - Indiana Pacers
Games - 8
PER - 8.6
Simple - -11.4
Offensive Rating - 92
Defensive Rating - 104

Clearly the Pacers expected George to contribute early - he played 20 minutes or more in each of their first three games.  His minutes decreased in each of the first six games.  Since then he's only played in two additional games.  He has shot a dreadful 34.1% and struggled to provide any sort of boost when he was playing.

Transitioning to the NBA is not a simple task.  As this look at the top 10 picks of the 2010 NBA draft shows, even the most highly-regarded talent can struggle in the most competitive of courts.  So far, Wall and Favors stand out above the others with Aminu and Cousins behind them.  In the next post I'll highlight picks 11-20.

LeBron Alley Oop from Carlos Arroyo at Mid-Court

This alley oop from Carlos Arroyo at mid-court to LeBron is pretty nasty!