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Old 02-14-2008, 02:47 PM
King Glorious's Avatar
King Glorious King Glorious is offline
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Default NBA Rookie of the Year?

The award was basically conceded to Kevin Durant before the season started. Through the first two months of the year, it looked like he had it locked up. Not so fast. The Clippers' Al Thornton is coming on strong. Living here in LA, I get to see this guy play regularly. He's going to be a serious player in this league. It took him a while to come around but he's really showing that he's a force to be reckoned with. If I had a vote, I would be leaning towards Thornton right now. Unlike Durant who's strictly a jump shooter, Thornton has a variety of ways that he can score. He's also a very capable guy on the boards. A comparison of how Durant and Thornton stack up since the start of 2008:

Note-Thornton(2) are his stats when you take out his games where he played less than 20 minutes. Durant has played over 25 minutes every game.

Jan/Feb
Durant.......20 games.....39% fg.......18.9 pts.......3.9 boards.....33.4 mins
Thornton....21 games.....47% fg.......14.6 pts.......4.4 boards.....28.4 mins
Thornton(2)17 games.....47% fg.......16.3 pts.......5.0 boards.....31.2 mins

Feb only
Durant.......5 games.......38% fg......17.2 pts.......3.6 boards...34.2 mins
Thornton....8 games.......43% fg......16.8 pts.......6.1 boards...32.9 mins
Thornton(2)6 games.......46% fg......19.8 pts.......7.5 boards...37.7 mins

As you can see, Thornton was right on par with Durant when combining the months and this month, has outdone him. It's even more impressive when considering that of the 21 games Thornton has played since January started, he's only started eight of them and he's started five of the eight February games. So he's getting his numbers as a part-time starter while Durant is getting his as not only a starter but the first scoring option on his team. Thornton has been on a tear in his last four (37.3 mins, 21.5 pts, 8.0 boards, 58% shooting). The race is definitely heating up.

The funniest thing is that Thornton wasn't even chosen to compete in the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge game.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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Old 02-14-2008, 02:48 PM
SniperSB23 SniperSB23 is offline
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Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  #3  
Old 02-14-2008, 03:01 PM
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King Glorious King Glorious is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SniperSB23
Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was very unheralded and has been a consistent and surprising contributer for the Raptors. But he just doesn't score enough. He shoots well and rebounds pretty well but he's just not as big a force on the offensive end as those other two guys.

Moon
Jan/Feb....19 games, 28.0 mins, 8.9 points, 5.6 boards, 50% shooting
Feb only...6 games, 22.0 mins, 9.5 points, 4.8 boards, 54% shooting

In my opinion, he should be on the all-rookie first team but ranks behind the other two. Good player though.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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Old 02-14-2008, 03:05 PM
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Cannon Shell Cannon Shell is offline
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Unless Durant breaks his leg he is a lock.
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Old 02-14-2008, 03:14 PM
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whodey17 whodey17 is offline
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I am with Cannon here. However, my pick would be Al Horford.
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Old 02-14-2008, 03:44 PM
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King Glorious King Glorious is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whodey17
I am with Cannon here. However, my pick would be Al Horford.
Al Horford has played very well too. Most people who know the game thought he was better than Noah coming out.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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  #7  
Old 02-14-2008, 03:15 PM
SniperSB23 SniperSB23 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by King Glorious
He was very unheralded and has been a consistent and surprising contributer for the Raptors. But he just doesn't score enough. He shoots well and rebounds pretty well but he's just not as big a force on the offensive end as those other two guys.

Moon
Jan/Feb....19 games, 28.0 mins, 8.9 points, 5.6 boards, 50% shooting
Feb only...6 games, 22.0 mins, 9.5 points, 4.8 boards, 54% shooting

In my opinion, he should be on the all-rookie first team but ranks behind the other two. Good player though.
He played for the Albany Patroons the past two seasons so I went and watched him all the time. Was amazed how talented he was to not be able to make it in the NBA. Now I see he really was as good as I thought he was. He can score which is why the Raptors offense baffles me. I've watched a few of their games and he basically just sits in the corner while the rest of the team passes around the ball. Makes no sense since he can shoot the three at 6'8" and can dunk on anyone. Last night I caught the first few minutes of their game against NJ and up 11-6 early he'd already hit a three, caught an alley-oop for a dunk, and drove to get to the line for two free throws for 7 points. Wish they got him that involved more often. Watch out for him in the rookie game, he is great in transition and can throw down some incredible dunks. The game's style should suit him perfectly.
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