NBA ROOKIE WATCH: WEEK 12

Good news for dunk fans. High-flying rookie Blake Griffin will be competing in this year’s dunk contest at All-Star weekend.

1. Blake Griffin | PF | Los Angeles Clippers | 1^st Pick 2009
22.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 37.3 MIN
Griffin’s had another one of those weeks. Not only have the Clippers continue to win, but Griff’s LA team beat that other Tinseltown squad. So how did he follow up knocking off the Lakers? By scoring 47 points the next night, of course. He’s now had 27 consecutive double-doubles.

2. DeMarcus Cousins | PF | Sacremento Kings | 5th Pick 2010
13 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 0.7 BPG 26.1 MIN
Cousins has continued to put smiles on the weary faces of Sacramento Kings fans, and they sure could use cheering up. It’s mid-way through the season and they still haven’t reached double digit wins, ouch. He had 20 points and 8 rebounds on Monday, and recorded a double-double last Friday, and had a nice three blocks to go with it.

3. John Wall | PG | Washington Wizards | 1st Pick 2010
15.4 PPG, 9.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, 36.9 MIN
Wall is desperately trying to crawl back to his start of year level. He’s also trying hard to average a double-double this season, racking up those assists. He had 15 in a win against Utah, feeding his teamates the ball. He’s arguably a better passer than former number one pick and MVP candidate, Derrick Rose. Wall is 5^th in the league in assists per game.

4. Greg Monroe | PF | Detroit Pistons | 7^th Pick 2010
6.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.4 BPG, 22.4 MIN
While most of the Pistons fans are still living in the past, cheering for Rip Hamilton, they should be looking at their future, power forward Greg Monroe. The Pistons have won their last three games, in part down to the play of Monroe. He’s now getting starter minutes, and is putting up nice numbers – averaging 12 points and 9 rebounds in his last five games.

5. Landry Fields | SF | New York Knicks | 39^th Pick 2010
10.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 31.9 MIN
Fields has continued to be a consistent player for Knicks. The Knicks have cooled off a little since the start of the year, dropping a few games, and Fields has cooled off with them. They’ve lost four of their last five and are hovering just above 50% wins. Fields has continued to rebound like a big man, and shoot when given the ball.

BEST OF THE REST
Another nice surprise pick this year is San Antonio Spurs guard, Gary Neal. 26 year old Neal was undrafted in 2007, enjoyed success in Europe, then signed by the Spurs this offseason. In 21 minutes he’s scoring around 10 points a game, proving a nice backup for Parker. San Antonio continue their trend of over-achieving pick-ups.

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