FanHouse Nbarookcheck

The Los Angeles Clippers are having another one of their horrendous seasons. The annual ills of injuries and poor roster management have once again caused the Clips to fall to the NBA cellar.

However, one bright spot for the Clippers this season has been the development of Eric Gordon. After having a so-so start, Gordon has taken off the last few weeks, averaging 22.3 points per game through his six games this month. Of course he's only shooting 41.2% over that span and 43.5% for the year, but he's a rookie guard, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Normally we like to wait a little bit between filing Rook Check reports on a single player, but the situation with Michael Beasley deserves an update. The other day I mentioned that Beasley was moved to the bench, after starting every game up to that point this season. He didn't seem to take it well (at least performance-wise), finishing with zero points in just 13 minutes.

Coach Erik Spoelstra seemed to indicate afterwards that Beasley might be in that spot for a bit, and the rookie responded by very quickly figuring things out. The very next night in Los Angeles against the Clippers, Beasley came off the bench once more, but this time he delivered by scoring 24 points in 27 minutes, on 10-of-16 shooting.

As far as whether he'd prefer to start or come off the bench, Beasley is playing the role of good teammate, which is always nice to see.

"I would take [Friday's] game where I was 0 for 5 and no points and the win before I would take this," he said after Saturday's 97-96 loss to the Clippers.

"If that's where I need to play -- sixth, seventh, eighth [man] -- it doesn't really matter," Beasley said.

I don't think we'll see him moved all the way down to eighth, especially when the team's options ahead of him are limited at best. And if he continues to put up these kinds of numbers, unless there's a matchup situation like there was Friday night in Phoenix, he'll probably be back in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Most of the talk about this year's rookie class has been reserved for Bulls sensation Derrick Rose. This isn't much of a surprise, considering that Rose has been an absolute beast so far this season. However, with all of the hype surrounding Rose, many have failed to acknowledge the accomplishments of Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo (okay, not everyone).

Through seventeen games Mayo is averaging 21.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals. He does have a slight turnover problem (2.59 per game), but he's a rookie, so he'll more than likely improve in that area. He also still looks a little lost on the defensive side of the ball, but the effort and willingness to get better on that side of the ball is definitely there.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Heat rookie Michael Beasley was the second overall pick in this year's draft, and with that lofty pick comes some lofty expectations. Beasley was in the starting lineup for the first 15 games of his NBA career, averaging around 14 points and five rebounds per game at the power forward spot.

With the Heat facing the tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire, coach Erik Spoelstra felt a lineup change was in order, and started Joel Anthony at center while moving Udonis Haslem to the power forward spot. This left Beasley to come off the bench for the first time in his career, the expectation being that he would still find a way to contribute. Unfortunately, he did not.

Beasley played just 13 minutes, and was held scoreless, going 0-for-5 from the field. Afterwards, he admitted that coming off the bench was a difficult adjustment, saying he was "lost" and "confused" about what his role was. Beasley's move to the bench appeared to be motivated by the game's matchups, but something Spoelstra said after the game made it seem like there was something Beasley could be doing to earn more minutes.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

The story going into yesterday's game between the Clippers and the Warriors was obviously the fact that it was Baron Davis' first game facing his former team. But that wasn't the case when the final buzzer sounded. Because while Davis played well (though not well enough to get his team the win), another guard on the court stole the show, and chances are, you've never heard of him.

Warriors' rookie Anthony Morrow got his first career NBA start, and made the absolute most of the opportunity. He scored 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting, and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Morrow was an undrafted free agent, and was signed by the Warriors after playing well for them during Summer League.

If you had never heard of Morrow before yesterday, don't worry: neither had Baron Davis, who praised Morrow's amazing performance afterward:

"Oh my God, who was that guy?" Davis said. "He just came out of nowhere. We had watched him and coach told us he can shoot. But he's just one of those guys. Nellie keeps guys like that on his team, and when he got the confidence to score, he got hot. He got hot. He got hot. He couldn't miss."

While Morrow was on fire against the Clippers, he'll likely face a tougher challenge when being defended by ... oh, just about anybody else. The Clips have a habit of allowing a guard on the opposing team to go off; Beno Udrih torched them for 30 the game before during the Clippers' loss to the Kings. Still, that was an exciting first start for Morrow, and he'll get his chance to prove it wasn't a fluke this Tuesday when the Warriors host the Blazers.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

O.J. Mayo is close to walking on the sun at this point.

His professional career is seven games old, and he's rapidly approaching "terrifying scorer" status. Tonight he set a new career high with 31 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Most notable about this performance was the fact that when he started, well, there was no way to stop him. At all.

Mayo opened up 4-of-5 from the arc with 26 points in the first half. He had 20 in the first quarter before coach Marc Iavaroni decided that the best thing to do with his star 21-year-old with fresh legs and an incredible scoring streak was to -- of course -- sit him for a long stretch to start the second. Sigh.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Russell Westbrook is quickly becoming one of my favorite NBA Rookies. Sunday night he helped the Oklahoma City Thunder collect their first ever victory as an NBA franchise. Westbrook made his mark on the contest by pressuring the ball on defense and pushing the ball on offense. Westbrook finished the contest with 14 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 25 minutes of play and led an OKC second half comeback.

I know this has been said before, but Westbrook reminds me so much of Boston's Rajon Rondo it's not even funny. They both play aggressive pressure defense, push the ball at break neck speed, and finish at the rim with great efficiency. Their bodies even look the same (Point guard's body, Small forward's wingspan, broad shoulders). Rondo is a better rebounder than Westbrook, but Westbrook has that outside shooting touch that most Rondo still lacks.

After the jump, take a look at Westbrook's impact on Sunday night's contest.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

The nation held its breath as two exciting young teams met in Minneapolis last night. ... Wait, what? No one watched the Kings and the Timberwolves battle? Well, that's surprising. And unfortunate, because it was quite a game.

The two rookies who saw burn played extremely well. The style of Minnesota's Kevin Love -- skilled but bruising -- definitely translated against a soft Sacramento interior. Love hammered the boards relentlessly (nine rebounds in 18 minutes) and scooped in some crafty buckets (12 points). Concerns with his athleticism were only relevant on a few plays; in one of those, an opposing forward soared over Love to tip in an offensive rebound.

That opposing forward was Jason Thompson, Sacramento's surprise pick at No. 12 last June. Thompson had a shocking, masterful game with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. Kings fans didn't expect to see much Thompson, even with Brad Miller suspended for the first five. To see J.T. enter the game early in the first quarter and stay on the floor ... a pleasant surprise. J.T.'s defense needs to improve, but the potential spilled all over the court Wednesday; both these rooks can be good this year.

Also of note: Donté Greene, a rookie forward Sactown acquired in the Ron Artest trade, made the inactive roster. His fro-hawk is at roughly six glorious inches, and his suit was natty. And his show debuts soon. This rook's making first team All Awesome this year.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, and (later) Michael Beasley attracted a lot of negative attention over the summer over what Watson accurately described as "shenanigans." A lot of people questioned their pro value based on maturity and whether they were mentally focused enough to play in the NBA.

Let's play the "One Night Overreaction" Game!

Okay, so we'll hold off on commissioning their busts for the Hall of Fame just yet, but for one night at least, it looked like the party goers were going to be having a different kind of party on the court. Witness:

Mario Chalmers was the only starter with a positive +/- for the Heat in their loss to the Knicks, and finished with 17 points on 54% shooting, seven rebounds (!) and eight assists with only one turnover. There was a lot of panic about the point guard situation down in South Beach, but based on what the kiddo showed in his first crack, it may end up being a managed position. So long, Chris Quinn era.

Rook Check takes a look at the progress of NBA Rookies throughout the season.

Last night, number one overall pick Derrick Rose made his NBA debut. Rose's numbers -- 11 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in 32 minutes -- don't jump off the page, but believe me, Rose was very impressive last night.

I guess the most impressive aspect of his well rounded performance was how poised and under control he was. Yes, he did have 4 turnovers, but he's a rookie point guard in his first real NBA game. Outside of once in a generation exceptions like Chris Paul, rookie point guards will make some initial mistakes. But outside of those few mistakes, Rose was in complete control.