Preseason All-Rookie Team – Week 2

Week two of our preseason all-rookie rankings.

There seems to have been a lull in excitement surrounding the league this week as the initial enthusiasm of having regular basketball back on our screens has quickly waned, leaving us crying out for competitive action.  With the Association having completed its global responsibilities, the words ‘DNP – Coaches Decision’ are now cropping up with increasing regularity as teams look to enter the 82-game grind injury-free; certainly as far as key players are concerned.  Unfortunately, as was covered by one of my co-writers earlier in the week, the Utah Jazz and Trey Burke have not managed to survive the rigors of training camp, and Jazz fans are now faced with the prospect of spending the first few months of the season with an offense dictated by John Lucas III.  As if prospects weren’t already bleak enough for our friends over in Salt Lake City….

Moving on, perhaps this horrific English weather, coupled with my frustration at the Miami Dolphins throwing away (quite literally) what would have been a rather nice Sunday evening winner on the moneyline, is to blame for my current ‘glass half-empty’ attitude, but today I would have found it far easier writing an article entitled, ‘Rookie of the Weak’.  For your reference, that team would have been led by Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who could have probably built a small house with the number of bricks he’s thrown up over the start of his NBA career.

Alas, that is not the direction of this article and whilst the basketball we have seen has fallen victim to a drop in standard, there are still a number of rookies that have performed admirably over the last seven days.  Firstly however, let’s recap last week’s starting five:

1: Michael Carter-Williams – Philadelphia 76ers

2: Victor Oladipo – Orlando Magic

3. Anthony Bennett – Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Kenny Kadji – Cleveland Cavaliers

5. Kelly Olynk – Boston Celtics.

Three of the above have, through fault of their own, fallen out of favor this week and, as a result, have fallen into the dreaded abyss.  One of those, Kenny Kadji, may actually be without a team in a week’s time, as reports out of Cleveland see Henry Sims taking their final roster spot.  Hopefully that doesn’t materialize as I struggle to think how anyone would go about bouncing back from being named in The Lottery Mafia’s Rookie of the Week team one week and finding themselves without a team no more than 20 days later.

Here we go then:

Point Guard: Nick Calathes (45th pick in 2009 draft, Memphis Grizzlies via Minnesota Timberwolves)

“Who?”, I hear you asking.  Calathes was taken late in the second round back in ’09 by the Timberwolves and had his rights immediately traded to the Mavericks for a pick and cash.  Since then, he has plied his trade in his native Greece with Panathinaikos and in Russia with Lokomotiv Kuban.  Back in July, the Mavs traded Calathes’ draft rights to the Grizzlies in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick.  The Grizzlies are 3-0 since I picked last week’s team, and in each of those victories (two on the road in Atlanta and Orlando and one hosting the Bucks), Calathes’ play has led to his appearance on my radar.  Last night in the 90-82 victory over the Hawks, Calathes picked up 10 assists and was a +20 in 25 minutes of play off the bench, and a week earlier he picked up 8 assists when squaring off against D Rose and the Bulls… well Kirk Hinrich and the Bulls actually.  Memphis has struggled over recent seasons when Mike Conley has been on the bench, so bringing in a guy who averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 assists over the past season in Russia could well be a great pick-up.

Shooting Guard: Ben McLemore (7th Pick, Sacramento Kings)

McLemore makes his first appearance of the season on my team of the week after a much-improved recent showing.  His minutes continue to come from the bench, but it’s going to be tough to keep him there if he continues to play at his current level – especially when his competition comes in the form of Jimmer Fredette and Marcus Thornton.  In Sunday’s loss vs. Portland, McLemore posted 23 points, going 10-16 from the field and 3-7 from behind the line.  This is the kind of performance that the Kings faithful (yes, they do exist) have been hoping to see from him following what can only be described as a ‘shaky’ Summer League campaign.  Coach Mike Malone has had this to say on him:

“I think it’s huge, and Ben deserves a ton of credit. In Summer League, you saw a guy who was an athlete who didn’t understand what a good shot was and had trouble making plays off the bounce and didn’t really understand NBA defense and our terminology. You look at him now and he’s playing with a lot more confidence on offense, he’s taking good shots within the offense, and his team defense I’m most happy about because he’s really understanding and buying in to the team defense concept.”

I initially had McLemore down as having the Kings starting 2-guard role nailed down by Christmas, but if he continues to progress at this rate, Marcus Thornton will find himself dropping down the pecking order quickly.

Small Forward: Victor Oladipo (2nd Pick, Orlando Magic)

Oladipo retains his spot on the team by picking up exactly where he left off in the opening week of preseason.  As we inch closer and closer to the season opener, it looks like the Rookie of the Year honor is Oladipo’s to lose.  He is yet to appear remotely fazed by the step-up to the pros and has an air of confidence about him that is rarely seen until months into the season (at least as far as rookies are concerned).  A common theme with rookies as they enter the league is that they will search for their shot in order to try and impact the game, but Oladipo seems content to sit back and contribute in other areas.  His averaging of 4.8 assists through 6 preseason games is a testament to his improved ball handling and playmaking ability.  He is now a legitimate one-on-one threat, and with that, he can start to lure the second defender over, kicking out to the open man when necessary or continuing his drive to the basket.  Without a doubt, he has been my favorite rookie to watch over the last two weeks, by a considerable margin too.

Power Forward: Kelly Olynyk (13th Pick, Boston Celtics)

My second repeat pick goes to KO (could that be the new KG and catch on? I doubt it).  Olynyk has continued his solid play from the opening week and looks to have the starting 5 spot secured.  May I add that it certainly helps that his competition is Kris Humphries?  There are areas of his game that require improvement, specifically his ability to set screens where we have seen defenders simply run through him, but bear in mind that if we were to sit around and pick holes in the arsenal of this year’s rookie class, it would be an extremely lengthy affair.  So long as Olynyk is shooting above 60%, he is going to continue to cause trouble at this level, and I look forward to watching him do just that.

Center: Cody Zeller (4^th Pick, Charlotte Bobcats)

Picture this: the hoards of fans (questionable) at Time Warner Cable Arena grouped together singing “Dunked on by Cody Zeller, Zeller, Zeller, eh eh eh” to the tune of that classic (questionable) Rihanna track as the Bobcats reach the 30 games won mark (questionable).  Maybe that’s me getting carried away (on several points).  The Bobcats will never attract hoards of fans, it’s unlikely they’ll hit the 30 win mark, and it’s even less likely that such a chant will ever find its way onto the hardwood.  However, in Cody Zeller, the Bobcats have certainly picked up the most talented of the Zeller brothers (if we ignore Tyler).  In Saturday’s loss to the Mavs, Zeller registered his first double-double of the preseason and likely what will be the first of many once the season begins.  On a Bobcats team that remains short on talent and with Al Jefferson often attracting the double team, Zeller will have ample opportunity to operate on the offensive end.  Early comparisons have him shaping up in the vein of LaMarcus Aldridge, and whilst I’m certainly not a fan of trying to compare rookies to players of the past and present, if he manages to even get close to that mark, then he will be a big time player for years to come.

By Marc Harries
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