NBA Rookie of the Year race

I follow Andrew Bogut on Twitter and saw a post from him earlier:

SO they got my youngfella @BJ3nnings3 at 5th in the rookie rankings? What a joke. Even though he doesnt care bout ROY. 5th?? 5th?? LIKE 5th? about 7 hours ago via web

So it got me wondering what the current rankings were so I found this article. Here's their breakdown of the top 5.

1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
63	35.9	16.0	4.2	5.4	1.8	0.2	.455	.417	.878

Last Week: 2 | Drafted: 7
I can no longer ignore the fact that Curry is playing better than Evans. Evans may have already won over too many voters, but Curry is certainly making his case in a big way. ESPN.com's Marc Stein had an interesting column this week in which he spoke with several scout around the league. One Western Conference scout had this to say about the two: "[Tyreke] Evans is going to win it and [Brandon] Jennings was up there early, but [Steph] Curry is going to wind up being the best player of the three. He's the ray of hope in Golden State because he's got the shots, he's got the moves, he's marketable and he's only going to get better. And I think his teammates like playing with him. He's a great shooter, obviously, but he's unselfish. He's looking to get other guys involved. You can argue that [Curry's] numbers are inflated playing in Golden State's system, but you could have said that about a lot of rookies over the years. Most of the top rookies are on bad teams. Rookies of the Year aren't coming from the Lakers. The issue is what the Warriors are going to do with [Monta] Ellis, because it's obvious that that team needs to be built around Curry, and Curry defers too much when Ellis is in there."

2. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
59	37.2	20.3	4.9	5.4	1.5	0.4	.462	.259	.744

Last Week: 1 | Drafted: 4
Evans is obviously comfortable being a leader on the young Kings. Maybe too comfortable. In the Kings' 108-102 loss to the Thunder on Sunday, Evans called out teammate Andres Nocioni after the veteran took several questionable shots down the stretch. "We were in the game, and you come down and take bad shots?" Evans told the Sacramento Bee. "That's not team basketball. Coach didn't say nothing, so I thought I had to step up (and say something)." Maybe Evans was justified -- he had 24 points and seven assists to Nocioni's six points -- but he still apologized Tuesday afternoon on a Sacramento radio station.

3. Darren Collison, New Orleans Hornets

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
58	24.8	11.0	2.3	5.0	1.0	0.0	.465	.358	.840

Last Week: 3 | Drafted: 21
One Western Conference scout, in the earlier-mentioned Marc Stein article on ESPN.com, asked the question many have been asking: How will the Hornets -- and Collison in particular -- fare when Chris Paul returns? His answer: "The rookie has been so good because he's had the ball in his hands. Collison is more of a penetrator than a shooter. He's not a guy who's going to make shots out there [as a shooting guard]. The last time they went through this, they put Collison right back on the bench. Can [Paul and Collison] play together now? I don't necessarily think so."

4. Marcus Thornton, New Orleans Hornets

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
55	22.7	12.9	2.6	1.1	0.7	0.2	.453	.400	.796

Last Week: 4 | Drafted: 43
It's amazing to me that Thornton is still not starting. He, along with fellow rookie Collison, has been one of the Hornets' most aggressive and productive pieces. Still, Morris Peterson is starting, despite shooting just 36 percent from the field (33 percent on 3s). Peterson has scored in double-digits once in the last eight games and just four times all season. Thornton, on the other hand has scored in double-digits in 25 of the last 27 games. Hornets coach Jeff Bower continues to start Peterson and prefers the jolt Thornton provides off the bench, but why not let Thornton play a consistent 30-plus minutes per game?

5. Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
63	33.2	15.8	3.5	6.1	1.3	0.3	.368	.382	.807

Last Week: 5 | Drafted: 10
Despite all the distractions, all the Rookie of the Year talk, all Jennings wants is a spot in the playoffs. Early in the week, Jennings raised eyebrows after going just 2-for-12 in a win over the Wizards. "My offense is just terrible right now," Jennings was quoted in the Journal-Sentinel. "I don't even know if I want to shoot the ball because things are just not going my way. I'm struggling really bad right now." That drew a sitdown with coach Scott Skiles. "We're not fond of that kind of statement," Skiles said. "We know where his heart lies." Where Jennings heart is is helping the Bucks -- currently fifth in the East -- reach the playoffs. "Right now, I'm playing for something bigger. I don't even care about the Rookie of the Year," Jennings said. "Forget it. Whoever gets it, who cares? Both of their teams suck, so whoever gets it, it doesn't matter."

Unlike Bogut, I think they've actually got the rookie race pretty much right. His boy Brandon Jennings got off to a great start to the season and was definitely the front-runner but my boy Stephen Curry is the man to beat now. I'd actually put Jennings ahead of Thornton but that's the only change I'd make to the order.

Darren Collison has flown in to the top 3 due to the injury to Chris Paul. Collison (the new DC as we call him) has been putting up large numbers over the last month or so and although he turns it over far too often, its excusable from a rookie thrown in to that situation. Paul is supposed to be returning soon so DC will likely fall off and if Jennings can find his shot again he'll be back in the top 3.