There haven't been two more consistent rookies this season than Ja Morant and Kendrick Nunn. Morant was expected to have a strong rookie season, being the No. 2 overall pick will bring that type of pressure to perform, and so far he's played well against those predictions. Nunn, on the other hand, surfaced after an explosive preseason performance against the Houston Rockets, which got him on the radar of NBA diehards. While some may say that Morant is the run-away winner of the award with a quarter of the season done, Nunn has been right there next to Morant, and his expectations are a bit higher given that he's playing on a surprisingly elite Miami Heat team.
So far, Morant has Nunn beat in most statistical categories, but Nunn isn't far behind averaging two fewer points, and three fewer assists than Morant. While there's still plenty of time for another rookie to push themselves into the conversation, like Nunn's teammate Tyler Herro, or Eric Paschall with the Warriors, Morant and Nunn have been at the top of this class to start the season, and look like the two who will battle it out for the award at the end of the season. Both rookies have been impressive so far, and it will be interesting to see which one of them can keep it up, or, improve upon what they've started.
Remember, these rankings will reflect a rookie's performance on a week-to-week basis, not the collective season, so these aren't Rookie of the Year standings. For a look at last week's rankings, click here. With that straightened out, here are the latest Rookie Power Rankings for the 2019-20 season.
Last week: No. 10
Week-to-week Nunn continuously puts up performances that are surprising, but at some point, it's no longer a surprise and just the type of player he is. He reached a career-high in that wild game against the Atlanta Hawks when Trae Young got a little too cocky, declaring the game over right before the Heat finished the game on a 22-0 run, including overtime. Nunn tortured Young all night during that game, taking full advantage of Young's small size to post him up, pull up in his face for 3s, or drive right past him for floaters and layups. Young's defense has been his biggest flaw, and Nunn exposed that greatly during that game.
Last week: No. 9
After missing four games due to back spasms, Morant was healthy enough to play in two games this week, and he picked up right where he left off. Morant showed no hesitation getting to the basket, despite the reason he's had back issues this season is due to him falling into a cameraman while attacking the rim. In fact, against the Phoenix Suns, where Morant had a highlight reel poster dunk on Aron Baynes, the rookie fell awkwardly again, which raises the concern about his lack of body control when he's coming down from a layup or dunk. All night long, he went at Baynes, who is far bigger and stronger than he is, and while sometimes it's to sell the foul, there's a point where that becomes hazardous for the player. Especially someone who hasn't fully grown into his body yet, like Morant. The Grizzlies said when Morant originally got injured that they would take it slowly with him, almost like having him on a load management schedule, so it's no surprise that he'll be sitting out Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Last week: No. 1
Hachimura has been good pretty much all season long, and if the Wizards were at least decent, he'd probably get more attention. However, the biggest thing he needs to work on, since he doesn't have a reliable 3-point shot, is his efficiency scoring from mid-range. He hasn't quite found his touch from outside the paint yet, which leads to inconsistent shooting nights for the rookie. He's been a solid rebounder and finisher around the rim, but he needs to expand his game further than just around the rim for him to have a long, sustainable career in the league.
Last week: Unranked
Herro went off against the Chicago Bulls, which, despite their record, is noteworthy because the Bulls have a quality defense that has played winning teams tough this season. It wasn't all 3-point shots either, Herro unleashed a flurry of scoring against the Bulls from mid-range and at the rim, in addition to his 3-point shooting. However, Herro was essentially M.I.A. against the Hawks as he failed to score a single point. It wasn't that he wasn't getting open looks, his shot just simply wasn't falling. However, the fact that he couldn't knock down a single shot, some of them being wide open, is a tiny bit worrisome, and hopefully not an indicator of what's to come.
Last week: No. 4
We know Washington can score from beyond the arc. In fact, it's been ridiculous how good he's been from there. However, what I'd like to see more of is him using his size against smaller defenders to get buckets in the post more often. Against the Nets, there was one play where he had Theo Pinson on him in the paint, who was clearly outmatched against Washington. The Hornets fed him the ball in the post, and Washington got great positioning to bang into him, which got Pinson falling backward on his heels, to finish for an easy bucket. Washington is undersized for a power forward in the league, but his strength should be used more often when he has a size advantage over smaller defenders.
Last week: Unranked
Prior to playing against the Suns on Wednesday, Clarke had missed the Grizzlies' previous three games due to a sore left oblique. That same injury is also the reason Clarke will be out during Memphis' Friday-night matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. Nevertheless, Clarke's versatility has still been one of his greatest assets in his rookie season. He gets a little deer in headlights look when he has to create for himself at times, which results in a floater that he hasn't quite gotten down consistently, but he's shown that he can do a little bit of everything for Memphis.
Last week: No. 5
Hunter had a tough time against the Bulls this week, but then again, so did the rest of the Hawks, including Trae Young. The issue is, if Young can't get it going, the Hawks need someone else to step up, and theoretically, that would need to be any one of Hunter, Cam Reddish or Kevin Huerter. After having a super-efficient 28-point game against the Heat, Hunter went cold, and while he's been able to be consistent throughout the season, he couldn't knock down shots when the Hawks needed him most in that Bulls game.
Last week: No. 7
For the first time in a month, Barrett played well in a game that the Knicks actually won. Granted, it was against the Warriors, but after all the non-stop drama that's been swirling around the Knicks' front office, it's a nice nugget of positivity for this struggling team. His 3-point shooting is really the biggest takeaway from that game, where he connected on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Barrett is taking about three 3-pointers per game, and is shooting them at a 32.1 percent clip. He's been up and down with this 3-point shooting all season, so to see him knock down a few of them either means he's hot right now, and that a cold streak is coming soon, or that he's trending up in his efficiency. We'll see.
Last week: Unranked
For four games, Hayes has put up 10 or more points for the Pelicans, and on a nightly basis tries to posterize a new player. Hayes' athleticism is his greatest strength, but offensively, he doesn't offer a lot of positives. He's excelled as a rim runner for the Pelicans', but he can't solely rely on his athleticism to keep him in the rotation, especially when Zion Williamson comes back.
Last week: No. 8
Many have said that Reddish has been terrible this season, but his stats from month-to-month show that he's improved from the start of the 2019-20 campaign. His field goal percentage in December is at 43.9 percent compared to 20.9 to start the season, his 3-point shooting has improved from 5.6 percent to 39.3 percent and he's averaging 13.6 points this month. The Hawks might be floundering, but Reddish is trending upward, and that's great news for when John Collins returns and Atlanta tries to course correct from the rough start they got off to this season.
Dropped out
