| 2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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And now mine:
| 2009-10 BasketBlogger NBA All-Rookie First Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2009-10 BasketBlogger NBA All-Rookie Second Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I moved Taj Gibson up over Darren Collison on the First Team, but they are still both on it. I just think that Gibson had an overall better season than Collison. We all saw how great DC played in place of CP3, but overall, I would rather put Gibson on the First Team than Collison if I had to pick one.
DeJuan Blair has to make one of the two teams, as well. He's playing behind Timmy Duncan, so obviously his minutes are limited, but what he has done with them, like Collison, is amazing. Blair was a Second Rounder, so he had a lot to prove to everyone who doubted him. Teams mostly didn't want to risk him getting injured, since he had a couple knee surgeries before the Draft, which is mainly why he was drafted so low. He's also playing for a Playoff team, which helps his resume.
Marcus Thornton has to stay on the Second Team, too. He's an electric scorer with a lot of potential, and surprisingly he was drafted 43rd overall. I guess the perfect word to describe him would be "surprise", because he surprised everyone with how well he played this season. If you think he can't score, just remember that he dropped 23 points in a quarter against Cleveland, a franchise record for points in a quarter. Here's what Jim Eichenhofer from Hornets.com said about Thorton's record-braking night:
"Thornton’s 37-point game at Cleveland on Feb. 23 was a record-breaking one in franchise history. While playing 31 minutes in a reserve role, he scored the most points in a single game by a substitute in the 22-year history of the Hornets. Thornton also poured in 23 points in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena, the franchise mark for points in a quarter. He also accomplished both feats without needing a high volume of touches, going 15-for-22 from the field. NBA.com wrote after the performance that 'Marcus Thornton… looked more like LeBron James than LeBron James.'"
I'm sure Gerald Wallace found Thornton pretty surprising, too.
James Harden has been effective for the Thunder this season, as well. He was definitely not the third best player in the Draft (he was drafted 3rd overall), but he has given the young Thunder a boost off the bench. His game is also pretty developed, so I won't be surprised if OKC starts him in seasons to come.
It's really hard for me to leave off Jonas Jerebko and Jonny Flynn, who both made the official Second Team, but I feel like the wear and tear of the season is what really slowed down Omri Casspi during the second half of the season. He was playing at a very high level throughout the whole first half of the season, and many were putting him in contention for Rookie of the Year. That talk died later on, but Casspi can still be very effective on both ends of the court and from inside and outside when he plays well.
Here comes another tough one. I put Wesley Matthews over Flynn mainly becuase of three reasons: 1) Matthews is contributing to a good Playoff team (Utah), 2) he proved his worth after going undrafted, and 3) I haven't seen enough of Flynn. Minnisota is rarely on TV, and let's face it: how many of you check the TWolves' boxscore or watch recaps the day after their games? Whenever I've seen Matthews, I've seen consistency in almost every aspect of the game. His shooting is good, he's pretty quick, and he can adapt to different situations he's put in. He also meshes well with Deron Williams, the teams's All-Star point gaurd who orchestrates their offense.
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