Tagged As: NBA, Heat, Sports, Spurs, Bulls, Thunder, Los Angeles

About a third of the NBA season is over and the play of the draft class of 2008 has been impressively surprising. So far the competition for rookie of the year has been more than simply a little compelling.

The Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has been thrust into the starting role thanks to an injury to Kirk Hinrich. His numbers have been fading of late, but his complete offensive show continues to be the highlight of every Bulls game.

His stats: 17.7 PPG, 6.2 APG, .474 FG%

Bulls record: 13-14

Here are the highlights from a local Dallas telecast in which he scores 30 points.

The Memphis Grizzlies made a desperate trade last season in the middle of the year. Experts were convinced that the club was going to be banished to the bottom of the league thanks to the trade that sent Pau over to Los Angeles for his brother Marc and a few other pieces. Well, this season rookies O.J. Mayo and Gasol the Younger have put that speculation to rest.

O.J. Mayo has proven that he can score despite the experts predictions that his athleticism was somewhat lacking. Marc has been able to be a defensive force with good finishing skills. Together, they have helped lead the Grizzlies out of last place in the Western Conference with a 9-18 record.

O.J. Mayo’s stats: 20.3 PPG, .889 FT% 1.11 STL

Thanks to NBA.com we can see he does not have a problem getting to the rim.

Marc Gasol’s stats: 10.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, .520 FG%

It’s not that I hate the Mavs, it’s just that this local station has a nice collection of clips.

We cannot forget about the second pick in the draft, Michael Beasely. He has proven the scouts right with his ability to score. He has not as stellar as rebounding machine, but he has shown that he has all kind so of NBA range.

Michael Beasley’s stats: 13.6 PPG, .346 3P%, 5.0 RBG

Heat record:14-12

Thanks to ESPN, here is proof that Beasley was meant to be an NBA player.

Russell Westbrook is learning the point guard position on the fly for the Oklahoma City Thunder. People forget that he was a shooting guard at UCLA, but his athleticism has been a tremendous gift while he learns the ropes in the NBA. His shooting still needs to improve but the Thunder’s future looks bright despite this ugly season.

Russell Westbrook’s stats: 13.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.5 APG

Thunder record: 3-25

Watch Russell fly in this NBA TV clip.

George Hill may not be the most obvious name on the ballot. Perhaps it is too plain. Maybe if he sexified it with some weird spelling that defied convention more people would realize that this late first round pick filled in more than admirably for Tony Parker. He is the one guy I am willing to cut some slack for really underwhelming numbers.

George Hill’s stats: 9.1 PPG, 2.43 A/TO, .389 3P%

Spurs record: 17-10

This clip comes with thanks to the local Spurs FoxSports coverage.

There are plenty of rooks who would be mentioned here, but they have not been given the minutes to make a real run at the Rookie of the Trimester Award. In the meantime, pick up some NBA tickets and checkout these and other great young players as they prove that the 2008 Draft Class is perhaps one of the deepest in the past decade.