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This hasn't exactly been a great week for the 2018-19 Rookie class considering their past exploits. A lot of them struggled this week, especially when it came to shooting the ball.
A disappointing week sees Jaren Jackson Jr. drop out of the top 5, while Wendell Carter Jr. who was pushing for a spot among the big boys had arguably his worst stretch as a pro, averaging 7.6 Points and 4.3 Rebounds this week, which drops him out of the picture completely.
Also read: The Favorites to Win NBA Rookie of The Year 2018-19
Some new faces are popping up, however, with Kevin Huerter's emergence for the Atlanta Hawks, and he is definitely one to keep an eye on, after averaging 19 Points this week. So, with Week 9 in the books, here are the top 5 Rookies:
#5 Trae Young
Trae Young continues to do Trae Young things. We saw both the good and bad this week, as Young averaged 16.5 Points and 6.5 Assists in 2 games against the Mavericks and Celtics.
He had 24 Points and 10 Assists against Dallas and followed that up with a stinker against Boston, with 9 Points and 3 Assists. Young continues to have great highs and some pretty bad lows, but that is expected I suppose, having to carry this Hawks offense which doesn't have a whole lot apart from him, but if Huerter can continue in this vein, then Young will get some much-needed help.
His 3 point shooting is a concern, however, going 2/8 this week and over his last 6 games, Young is shooting a pathetic 15% from beyond the arc. His assists have been wildly up and down as well, but he's still comfortably leading all rookies in assists at 7.1-a-game.
Next week promises some good returns for Trae, with the Hawks going up against 3 of the worst defensive teams in the league in the Wizards, Nets, and Knicks.
#4 Collin Sexton
Collin Sexton was on a roll coming into this week, with 3 straight 20 point games capped off by a 29-Point, 6-Assist night in a win against the Wizards. This week, however, was a different story altogether, as he struggled across the board, averaging 13 Points and 1.6 Assists while shooting just 35.5% from the field.
While the scoring can fluctuate of course and Sexton hasn't shown much playmaking ability (averaging 2.6 assists a game), he's usually much more efficient shooting the ball (45% thus far).
He also saw his double-digit scoring streak since becoming a starter, which stretches back to 18 games, snap against the stifling Bucks defense last time around, but that's acceptable considering the Bucks are 5th in defensive efficiency. It doesn't get any easier this coming week, with the Cavs facing the Raptors, Sixers, and Pacers.
#3 Kevin Knox
All jump back aboard the Kevin Knox bandwagon. After getting into a funk the past few weeks, Knox got back in a groove. He averaged 21.6 Points and 8.3 Rebounds in 3 games and had a career night against the Hornets with 26 Points and 15 Rebounds.
He became only the 2nd teenager after a certain LeBron James to put up 25 Points and 15 Rebounds in a game, which I'd say is pretty good company. Knox has been getting more playing time of late, as the Knicks look to hand over the reins of the offense to him with Kristaps Porzingis unlikely to come back any time soon.
The added workload does mean there will be many bumps and bruises along the way and it's unlikely that he keeps this up, though he does face the Suns and Hawks this coming week so we can expect some fireworks for the time being.
#2 DeAndre Ayton
There were some red flags when Ayton was benched against the Blazers last week, but that just seems like a one-off thing now. He averaged 14.2 Points, 10 Rebounds and 1.7 Blocks this past week and had 3 Double-Doubles in 4 games.
That benching did seem to light a fire inside the big man and he has put in more effort on the defensive end, with 7 blocks in 4 games as compared to 3 in 5 games before that. Ayton also had one of his better defensive outings against the Timberwolves last time around, which is encouraging for the Suns.
The questions around Ayton were his effort and his defense, so it's good to see improvements in that regard. Coming up next for the Suns, who are on their first 2-game winning run in nearly a year, are the Knicks, Celtics and the Wizards
#1 Luka Doncic
Coming off a statement game against the Rockets, where he went on an 11-0 run by himself, Doncic had a pedestrian week by his standards, but it was still good enough to ensure he remains top of the rankings.
Doncic averaged 14.6 Points, 8.6 Rebounds and 7 Assists this week, as the Mavericks continue to surge up the standings. He struggled shooting the ball, however, but more than made up for it thanks to the other facets of his game as evidenced by him setting season highs for Rebounds and Assists, with 11 and 9 respectively against the Magic on a bad shooting night.
Doncic doesn't need to always go out there, shoot lights out and score 20 points, he can impact the game in so many ways which is why he's most likely to remain top of the Rookie Rankings for quite a while.
The coming week does present quite a lot of challenges for Luka and the Mavericks, going up against the Nuggets, Clippers, and Warriors.
