6. The rookie race
I realize the general consensus is that the Rookie of the Year race is over, and to the extent that it isn't over is because Al Horford is pushing Kevin Durant for the top honor.
But allow me to bring two other names to your attention. At the very least, these guys deserve to be named first-team All-Rookie, instead of the usual pattern of voting for players who played a lot of minutes but didn't necessarily play them well. (Somewhere, Adam Morrison is quietly taking a bow).
The first is Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young. He's the same age as Durant and has a better PER at 16.33. In fact, his ascension into the starting lineup has been one of the catalysts behind the Sixers' playoff push. Philly is 20-16 when he plays at least 12 minutes, and 11-6 when he plays at least 24.
The 6-foot-8 teenager ranks second among all NBA small forwards in both shooting percentage (52.6 percent, second only to Atlanta's Josh Childress) and rebound rate (surpassed only by fellow rook Jared Dudley of Charlotte).
Better yet, his closet is skeleton-free. In talking to some Sixers people before a recent game, they seem as impressed by his character as they were by his game. He still has to improve his jumper and see the floor better, but he has superstar potential and nobody's talking about him.
Yet one player has been even more impressive than Young, at least in his rookie season. His name is Carl Landry ... or as I've taken to calling him, Carl Landry!
As in, guess who's averaging 19.3 points and 12.9 boards per 40 minutes? Carl Landry!
Can you believe who's shooting 62.7 percent from the floor? Carl Landry!
Do you know who's fifth among all power forwards in rebound rate, ahead of David Lee and Kevin Garnett? My goodness, it's Carl Landry!
Care to guess who's leading all rookies in PER? Yep ... Carl Landry!
Better yet, have you heard who has the best PER on a 37-20 Houston team with two perennial All-Stars? Would you believe ... Carl Landry!
The second-round pick from Purdue was an afterthought in Houston's preseason plans -- 6-7 power forwards with limited shooting range haven't had the greatest track record in the NBA. As a result, he only played in three games prior to New Year's Day.
But on Jan. 11, he went 7-for-7 against Minnesota and hasn't been out of the rotation since. The fact that Landry's increased playing time has been met with a 13-game Houston win streak is not a coincidence. The Rockets are 17-1 when Landry plays more than 10 minutes, and 20-19 when he doesn't.
I'll grant that his numbers have only been generated in 377 minutes and it seems unlikely that he can keep up quite such a prolific pace. Nonetheless, any discussion of the league's top rookies has to include Landry. He's been brilliant at both ends when he's played, and it's not his fault he was nailed to the bench for half the season.
