The selections for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge have been announced, and there’s not a Pacers player in sight!
What? I hear you say. No Roy Hibbert, no Brandon Rush, no Tyler Hansbrough and no AJ Price?
No. But do they deserve to be there?
No.
Take a look at the teams and their respective stats for the season:
| Rookies | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Tyreke Evans | 40 | 37.1 | 20.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
| DeJuan Blair | 43 | 18.3 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 0.7 |
| James Harden | 44 | 23.1 | 9.9 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| Jonny Flynn | 46 | 29.8 | 14.2 | 2.4 | 4.3 |
| Brandon Jennings | 43 | 34.3 | 17.7 | 3.6 | 6.3 |
| Stephen Curry | 43 | 34.1 | 14.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Jonas Jerebko | 41 | 27.8 | 8.4 | 5.4 | 0.7 |
| Taj Gibson | 43 | 24.5 | 8.5 | 6.3 | 0.6 |
| Omri Casspi | 42 | 27.6 | 12.2 | 4.8 | 1.4 |
| Sophomores | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Derrick Rose | 43 | 36.3 | 19.6 | 3.7 | 5.9 |
| Michael Beasley | 44 | 32.1 | 16.2 | 6.8 | 1.3 |
| Eric Gordon | 32 | 35.5 | 17.0 | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Kevin Love | 26 | 30.3 | 14.8 | 11.9 | 2.6 |
| Brooke Lopez | 43 | 36.2 | 19.0 | 9.4 | 2.2 |
| Danillo Gallinari | 43 | 31.8 | 14.6 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
| Russell Westbrook | 44 | 35.0 | 15.9 | 4.9 | 7.3 |
| Marc Gasol | 43 | 35.4 | 14.9 | 9.6 | 2.2 |
| OJ Mayo | 43 | 38.4 | 18.1 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
Now look at the numbers for the four Pacers who missed out.
| Pacers | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Tyler Hansbrough | 29 | 17.6 | 8.5 | 4.8 | 1.0 |
| AJ Price | 26 | 14.7 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| Brandon Rush | 45 | 27.8 | 8.3 | 4.0 | 1.2 |
| Roy Hibbert | 45 | 23.6 | 10.9 | 5.8 | 1.8 |
You could have perhaps made a case for Hansbrough, but he has missed a large chunk of the season due to a nagging ear infection. As for Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert, there’s just comparison with the top sophomores in the league at the moment.
Note that the contestants are selected by the NBA’s assistance coaches, with each team submitting one vote.
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