NBA Week 1 rewind: Stephen Curry, Thunder put on a show
By Tom West
Weekly NBA Rookie Watch
Karl-Anthony Towns has simply been exceptional at the start of his NBA career. For a rookie with just two games under his belt, he’s been aggressive and efficient offensively, while establishing himself as the kind of interior defensive presence that can help the upcoming Timberwolves immediately. In Minnesota, Towns has the perfectly opportunity to develop. With a major role (32.5 minutes per game so far), he’ll have the consistent playing time to gain plenty of experience as Andrew Wiggins did last season. Plus, with a pass-first point guard like Ricky Rubio to connect with, Towns is in a system that can suit his talent in the post.
With his solid mid-range game and skill on the low block, Towns has started off by averaging a highly impressive 21 points over his first two games. Along with his tenacious ability on the boards and interior presence, he’s averaged 13 rebounds and 2 blocks per game as well, thanks to his 28 point, 14 rebound, 4 block game against the Nuggets. He really couldn’t be doing any better so far, and has a stellar player efficiency rating of 27 to show for it.
Jahlil Okafor had 26 points in his debut, although his production simmered down slightly in his following performance. In his first game against the Boston Celtics, his footwork and artistry in the post was on display as he made 10-of-16 shots to go along with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. With the Philadelphia 76ers being so limited talent-wise, with no clear-go-to options on offense besides Okafor, he’ll have the chance to produce the kind of stat line that can put him near the forefront of the conversation for Rookie of the Year. That being said, when faced with Rudy Gobert and the lengthy defense of the Utah Jazz, Okafor more than met his match as his scoring simmered down to 10 points on 33 percent shooting in his second game.
D’Angelo Russell’s NBA debut hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as the Lakers would have liked. Specifically, his 1.7 assists in 25.3 minutes per game and 36.7 percent shooting. However, as a 19 year old rookie, playing at the toughest position in the league, Russell definitely gets a pass for a shaky start. Not to mention, being on a team with another talented combo guard in Jordan Clarkson and other ball handlers like Lou Williams and Kobe Bryant, isn’t the perfect situation for a guy like Russell.
Emmanuel Mudiay isn’t going to find much success when it comes to winning with the Nuggets, but he can at least showcase his individual talent to give their future some promise. A 17 point, 9 assist debut was a good way to do that, and even though he’s faced with a lot of pressure by stepping in as a rookie starting point guard in the NBA, Mudiay has the size (6’5″), athleticism and vision to make it work. His shooting efficiency and shot selection is what needs work (33.3 field goal percentage so far), although that will come with time now that his form is looking more refined. Like Russell, a slow start is expected for Mudiay.
Next: Under-the-radar players to watch next week