Wednesday, April 21, 2004

NBA Rookie of the Year - did they get it right?

Generally you have to say yes - Lebron and Carmellow were clearly #1 and #2, but this article from SLAM! says that Bosh "got jobbed" by not being the #3 guy - instead coming in #5 behind Dwayne Wade and Kirk Hinrich. You know what - he is right - I can buy finishing 4th behind Wade. He could be considered the best player on that team. However, no way he finished behind Hinrich - NO WAY. The biggest factor is that Bosh played out of position. Starting center in the NBA for a 19 year old 6'11" 220lb guy going against 7 foot + guys at 280+. He had a very solid season considering the pounding he had to endure.

Let's compare stats:

Bosh......... 11.5 pts.....7.4 rbds.......45.9% FG.........35.7% 3pt.........70.1% FT%......1.0 assists.......0.79 steals......1.41 blocks......1.43 to's
Hinrich...... 12.0 pts.....3.8 rbds.......38.6% FG..........39.0% 3pt........80.4% FT%.......6.8 assists......1.33 steals......0.28 blocks......2.68 to's
Wade....... 16.2 pts.....4.0 rbds.......46.5% FG..........30.2% 3pt.........75.7% FT%......4.5 assists.......1.41 steals......0.56 blocks......2.0 to's

What this really shows is that it is hard to compare guards against centers - boards versus assists. But there is no doubt that Bosh took a more physical toll and still put up good numbers.

You know - this class is shaping up to be one of the top classes produced in a LONG time.