NBA Rookie of the Year Race - Hanlin, Justin, Julien, Varun
Ben Simmons - Hanlin
Donovan Mitchell - Justin
Lonzo Ball - Julien
There are house league players with better shot form than Lonzo Ball, but internet memes aside, the number 2 overall pick in last year’s draft has quietly put himself in contention for the Rookie of the Year award.
Most voters would only look at points scored, see that his 10.2 ppg is inferior to most of the competition (Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkannen, Ben Simmons, Kyle Kuzma, and Dennis Smith Jr. to name a few), and instantly be turned away. However, being an advanced statistics darling like Jason Kidd, it takes a keen eye to discern just how crucial he is to the Lakers’ limited success.
The Lakers with Lonzo post the highest PACE scores of any team in the NBA. In fact, in his 15-game absence, the Lakers possession performance dropped from 105.2 possessions per game, 1st in the NBA, to a mere 98.9, good for only 24th. More possessions signify fast break opportunities that are only available because of Lonzo’s amazing vision and passing skills. His ability to push the Lakers for easy buckets absolutely make them a better team. He is no slouch defensively either. He posts a defensive rating of 103.0, the best on the Lakers. He also rebounds 18.3% of available rebounds when is on the floor, which is better than Julius Randle and Brook Lopez, the two dedicated rebounders on the team.
Simply put, he is the do-it-all point guard who takes massive amounts of pressure off his teammates. The team, however, holds him back on all fronts.
Lonzo assists on 28.7% of the Lakers baskets, with an estimated assist percentage of 39%, which would’ve been better than Simmons, if his teammates played up to replacement level. Replacement. The Lakers’ other four apparently are worse than most benches in the NBA. Lonzo is also the only Laker who has posted a respectable +/-, with +1. Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram, the Lakers star second year player, has a dreadful -104.
Percentage-wise, Lonzo’s stats blow the other contenders out of the water because Simmons, Mitchell, and Markkannen don’t have monkeys for teammates. Lonzo Ball is doing more, with less.
Lauri Markkanen - Varun
Lauri Markkanen is the ideal stretch 4 who can play some small-ball 5 when you need him to. He’s only shooting a league-average 35% from 3 so far this year, but make no mistake, he’s a dead-eye marksman. (His numbers are only going to go up. He shot a blistering 42% last year in college.) His range drags opposing big men out well beyond the three-point line to guard him and he’s got a snappy release, never afraid to pull the trigger. We should just start calling him Lauri Marksman-en. The best part about him? If the defence closes out on his shot, he has a skilled handle, allowing him to take the ball all the way to the rim before throwing down some ferocious dunks. The Finnisher already put the Knicks’ Enes Kanter on a poster, and he’s out looking for his next victim.
Beyond the shooting, Markkanen is great on the glass as well. He ranks second amongst all rookies (by only 0.1!), averaging 7.7 rebounds a game. His 1.2 offensive rebounds per game are also impressive considering Markkanen spends most offensive possessions well away from the rim and out along the three-point line. He’s also shown himself to be a solid screen setter. In the few games the Bulls have played with a healthy Zach Lavine they have looked formidable as a pick-and-pop duo, using Markkanen’s gravity and Lavine’s athleticism to generate easy buckets. On the defensive end, he’s shown promise, banging down-low in the post and using his quick feet to switch out and stay in front of smaller, quicker guards.
Lauri Markkanen is the best real rookie this year (Ben Simmons was basically in the league for a year and got to adjust to the NBA life), and sure to be a stud in the future. He had huge expectations on him after being the centrepiece of Chicago’s haul in return for Jimmy Butler and he’s lived up to all of it, giving Bulls’ fan the hope they need to get behind their young team.
Stats as of the end of games on 22 February 2018.
Sources: NBA, Basketball-Reference
