ROY Watch

[nets]

A bit early but I figured I would start the annual ROY watch.

Really only the top candidates below are in any special order.

[glow=red,2,300]ROY Front Runners[/glow]

13. Chicago Bulls - PG Chris Warren, Mississippi - Ben Gordon has given up alot of minutes to let this kid play but it has paid off. 21 points and 9 assists puts him in a great group of scoring point guards. Maybe even a top 5 guy at this point. Most impressively he is only averaging 1.7 turnovers and shooting 50% from the field.

2. Los Angeles Clippers - SF Austin Daye, Gonzaga - as predicted his doing the Durant/Aminu thing with a balanced game of 20 points, 6.6 boards and almost 4 assists. He is shooting 45% and 43% from three. He adds a steal and almost a block for an all around game.

8. Houston Rockets - PF Samardo Samuels, Louisville - Samardo is doing what the Rockets badly needed after tradign Yao, score and rebound. 9.2 boards and 15.4 points is not too shaby however his 39% field goal percent will have to improve for him to compete for ROY.

6. Memphis Grizzlies - SF Davon Jefferson, USC - after drafting OJ Mayo the Griz have never been able to build around him which is a shame but Davon Jefferson is looking solid so far. 14 points and almost 6 boards. His shooting percents are decent and his turnovers and defensive numbers are very reasonable.

5. New York Knicks (from Magic) -C Alexis Ajinca, France - the Knicks are having trouble scoring so I am not sure if Alexis will continue grabbing 35 minutes as Koufus may get back into the coaches graces. But in his minutes he does score 13 and grab 8 boards however his shooting percent is bad (38%). He is blocking 3.6 shots a game which is his advantage over Koufus but Dwight Howard is blocking almost one less a game so maybe Alexis is just canibalizing Howard.

1. Indiana Pacers - PF Anthony Randolph, LSU - very good all around numbers for a PF but so far not spectacular. 13 points, 8.6 boards but does get 3 assists which is nice for a big man. He also adds two blocks a game. I think to win ROY some of his numbers must go up including his 40% shooting percent.

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[glow=red,2,300]Guys not playing well enough for ROY[/glow]

9. Toronto Raptors - SG James Harden, Arizona State - I think James will get more consideration later in the year but for now he is a scoring guard that is averaging only 14 a game. Maybe if the Raptors reshape the team around him and Carney then his numbers will improve.

14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Jazz) - SF Jordan Crawford, Indiana - has perhaps the easist job of any rookie. Basically let Augustine and Walker score and Oden defend so basically just stand on the floor. So Jordan is getting 35 minutes a game to basically observe the other greats around him which is about what he is doing. He is getting 12 points and 5 boards but shooting 40% probably wont win a ROY award. His defensive numbers do look good so he is a front runner to move out of this group.

4. Houston Rockets (from Nuggets) - SF Kyle Singler, Duke - 11.8 points in 32 minutes is not very good for a small forward. The Rockets need scoring big time and Singler will get his chance but has to make more of it. He is shooting a high percentage so maybe as the Rockets look to him more his numbers will improve.

10. Atlanta Hawks (from Wizards) - C Anthony McClain, Cincinnati - his defense which is his job has looked decent. 1.8 blocks and 8.5 boards are more then Pau Gasol are doing. However his 5 points in 29 minutes are not ROY numbers. For now he is just a defensive presence but I think he was drafted for that.

3. San Antonio Spurs - SG Demar DeRozan, USC - the Spurs seem to be over achieving as they have come out of nowhere but it has not been Demar carrying them. His 11 points and 5 boards is nothing to write home about for a #3 pick.

16. Milwaukee Bucks - PG Alexey Shved, Russia - not sure if the SF experiment will end soon but his 9.5 points and little defense is not impressive. He is getting a decent amount of assists and doesn't turn the ball over but he makes the team fairly small so I am not sure this can be a winning formula for an entire year.

15. Dallas Mavericks - PF DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh - he is getting 33 minutes which is impressive considering the team is full of highly drafted PF/C types. But during his 30+ minutes he is scoring only 7 points. His almost 10 rebounds and almost 3 blocks may move him into consideration later in the year.

11. Philadelphia 76ers - PF Deon Thompson, North Carolina - Deon has been very productive in his 13 minutes a game scoring 7.4 points and grabbing 4 boards perhaps he will grab Travis Outlaws starting job and make a run at ROY,

20. Golden State Warriors - PF Bryan Davis, Texas A&M - only playing 17 minutes and being productive during those minutes but 4 points and 5 rebounds are not ROY numbers.

22. Boston Celtics- PF Phillip Jones - I like the 8.8 boards but no blocks and little points is not great in the center.

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[glow=red,2,300]Guys not getting enough playing time to compete for ROY[/glow]

7. Phoenix Suns - Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota
12. Cleveland Cavaliers - SG William Buford, Ohio State
19. New Jersey Nets - C Serge Ibaka, Congo
17. New Jersey Nets (from Heat) - SF Chandler Parsons, Florida
18. Minnesota Timberwolves - PG E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
21. Portland Trail Blazers - PG Jai Lucas
24. Portland Trail Blazers - PF Perry Stevenson
27. Portland Trail Blazers - C Omar Samhan
23. Washington Wizards - C Jordan Wilkes
25. Washington Wizards - PG Armon Bassett
29. Charlotte Bobcats - C Arinze Onuaku
26. Detroit Pistons - PF JaJuan Johnson
28. Utah Jazz - SF Eniel Polynice

[KingsOfKings]

Keep an eye on DeRozan in the next few sims, he had an injury.

[Thaaa BUCKS!]

Shved's SF experiment ended after the first sim

[NBL President]

Very pleased with Crawford. Maybe the SG I've been looking for.

[Sonics GM]

I really like the addition of Chris Kramer as a 2nd rounder for me. Very solid player. Fits in well with my team.

[nets]

Here is the update, I eliminated guys that appear to have no shot anymore, usually due to lack of minutes.

[glow=red,2,300]ROY Front Runners[/glow]

13. Chicago Bulls - PG Chris Warren, Mississippi - he took a step back and is now a hair above Daye for ROY. His scoring and assists are down but still excellent for a rookie PG at 19.6 and 8.8. His shooting percents are great and 2.1 turnovers are acceptable.

2. Los Angeles Clippers - SF Austin Daye, Gonzaga - his scoring is still at 20 but he is now grabbing 7.3 boards and a game and shooting over 46%. He may still catch Chris Warren if he improves one more notch.

6. Memphis Grizzlies - SF Davon Jefferson, USC - Davon is starting to pick up his performance. Almost 17 points and 6 boards. 44 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3 point land make him and Mayo a nice 1/2 punch.

1. Indiana Pacers - PF Anthony Randolph, LSU - improved alot since the last write up. He is almost at 16 points and 10 boards. His 3 assists is nice from the PF position, he blocks some shots and his shooting percent is up but not yet great.

9. Toronto Raptors - SG James Harden, Arizona State - I moved Harden into the running as he is now getting enough minutes and flourishing. He is a 17 points, 5 boards and 5 assists guy which is solid. Add in a steal and his very solid shooting percents (46, 79, 41) and you have a good candidate for ROY.

3. San Antonio Spurs - SG Demar DeRozan, USC - considering that Parker and Duncan take most of the shots his 15 points a game is not bad. 6 boards and 4.4 assists make him a very well balanced SG.

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[glow=red,2,300]Guys not playing well enough for ROY[/glow]

8. Houston Rockets - PF Samardo Samuels, Louisville - I moved Samardo out of the contenders circle because he is not really improving much. I think for this year he will stick to being a 14/10 guy with not a lot of shot blocking ability and not a great shooting percent.

5. New York Knicks (from Magic) -C Alexis Ajinca, France - for a guy playing 35 minutes the 2.9 blocks is his most impressive stat. His shooting percent is not very good and he doesnt score or rebound a whole lot.

14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Jazz) - SF Jordan Crawford, Indiana - has improved since the last time I wrote. He now scores 13.5 a game, grabs 5 boards and plays good defense. His shooting percent is also up. He still wont win ROY but is now a big contributor in Portland.

4. Houston Rockets (from Nuggets) - SF Kyle Singler, Duke - still a very average rookie year. 12 points and 6 boards and an average shooting percent.

16. Milwaukee Bucks - PG Alexey Shved, Russia - now for the Nets but still not playing enough minutes to win ROY. He and Parsons have been holding down the front while Gilbert Arenas is hurt but Gilbert is 2 sims from coming back. Alexey has a bright future but this year he is probably a 10 point scorer which wont win ROY.

15. Dallas Mavericks - PF DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh - still getting his minutes but still not doing much with them. 8 points and 10 boards is not impressive in 33 minutes. His shooting percent is awful so next time I update ROY I expect him to be out of the running.

17. New Jersey Nets (from Heat) - SF Chandler Parsons, Florida - has stepped up during the injuries to Gilbert Arenas and Alexey Shved. He probably wont get enough minutes down the stretch to win ROY but his 11 points and 5 boards a game are pretty good for only 20 minutes of play.

[Spurs]

I'm not really sure why DeRozen isn't getting as many shot attempts as Parker and Duncan. He is supposed to be my number one option. Parker is my 3rd option and takes the most shots. Anybody have an explanation for this?

DeRozen is constantly improving as the year goes on, so maybe Parker will start trusting him more.

[nets]

That is odd.

I don't have the game so I don't know how it works but perhaps Duncan and Parker have better ability to create shots where maybe Derozan is a spot up shooter or needs more help to get open so maybe he touches the ball a lot but doesn't shoot alot.

[NBL President]

1 more of these you can have 10.

[nets]

Only 20 or so games left so I will be very critical now and just list guys with a realistic shot at ROY.

After looking through the guys we had a lot of contenders at 15 points and either 10 boards for a big man or the swing men had 5 boards and 3-4 assists. But only two guys are right now in contention for MVP of their own teams and a step above that so I think the ROY will come down to-------

[glow=red,2,300]13. Chicago Bulls - PG Chris Warren[/glow] - he may end the season as a 20 point scorer with 9 assists which are great numbers for any PG but awsome for a rookie PG with really not much else on his team. He also shoots the highest FG percent from the Bulls starters. His defense is rated a B+ so we have to assume it is not elite but other then that I don't see what else he could be doing.

[glow=red,2,300]2. Los Angeles Clippers - SF Austin Daye[/glow] - unlike the real Clippers the NBL Clippers definetly did not draft a bust. Similar to Warren, Daye may finish the season averaging 20 points with not much around him outside of Buddinger. He also grabs 7 boards and gets 3.7 assists so basically another well rounded SF. Shooting percents are good.

Not sure who I would take at this point but gotta say that a good PG is harder to find so maybe Warren gets my nod.