NBA 2018-19: 4 Burning questions from the first week of the new season

#2 Rookie of the Year Race: One for the Ages?

Will Trae Young and DeAndre Ayton have the opportunity to put up some gaudy stats on the board?

Luka Doncic is my pick for the Rookie of the year, but I would not be surprised if I’m proven to be completely wrong here.

There are a lot of interesting storylines here but this is probably the most stat-driven award in the league and boy, will Trae Young and DeAndre Ayton have the opportunity to put up some gaudy stats on the board.

The former has already shown his amazing long-range touch and passing skills by torching the Cavs for 35 points and 11 assists, hitting six threes along the way.

Ayton also had a solid opening game against Doncic’s Mavs, where he put up a solid 18 points and 10 boards, but then he got killed by Jokic in the second game.

Similar to Young and Ayton, Marvin Bagley will have plenty of opportunities to put up some numbers, but he has failed to live up to the hype in either the summer league or the preseason.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is also a solid pick up by the Grizzlies and a good dark horse candidate, but as long as Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are still in Memphis, his action on the court would be limited.

Kevin Knox cooled down in the preseason after scorching the summer league, and he will have plenty opportunity to showcase his skill at MSG and I expect him to put up some numbers but he is already injured and not as far along with his skill set as the other players in his draft class.

All in all, this will be a very interesting Rookie of the Year race, something we’re not used to seeing in the recent past.