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The NBA regular season is less than a month away from reaching its end, with the battle for playoff and play-in tournament spots heating up. The race for the NBA Rookie of the Year award is also getting interesting and looks really tight right now.
It might end up as a three-rookie race between Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic will likely get votes, as will Josh Giddey of the OKC Thunder.
Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets has also been playing really well since the All-Star break and made the top five in last week's ROTY power rankings. Let's take a look at this week's list to see if there have been any kind of movements or changes this time around.
#5 Jalen Green
Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #5
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 1; Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 53; Games won - 9; Games lost - 44
Last Week: PPG - 20.0, APG - 4.3, RPG - 2.0
Overall: PPG - 15.6, APG - 2.6, RPG - 3.2
Last Week: FG% - 53.3%, 3P% - 42.9%, FT% - 85.7%
Overall: FG% - 41.1%, 3P% - 32.0%, FT% - 79.9%.
Jalen Green, the second overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, has been heating up for the Houston Rockets ever since the All-Star break. Green has figured out how to become a much more effective scorer, averaging 20.0 points in three games last week, while shooting at 53.3% from the field.
Green remains fifth in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. The 20-year-old gave his most impressive performance of the campaign against the LA Lakers. In their 139-130 overtime win, Green put up 32 points and shot 61.9% for the game.
#4 Franz Wagner
Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #4
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 2; Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 69; Games won - 18; Games lost - 51
Last Week: PPG - 8.8, APG - 2.0, RPG - 5.0
Overall: PPG - 15.2, APG - 3.0, RPG - 4.7
Last Week: FG% - 37.8%, 3P% - 7.7%, FT% - 75.0%
Overall: FG% - 46.5%, 3P% - 35.6%, FT% - 84.8%.
Franz Wagner continues to be the iron man of the 2021 NBA Draft class. However, Wagner barely hangs on to the fourth spot in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. He seems to have hit the dreaded rookie wall as he averaged just 8.8 points in four games last week.
Despite Wagner's slump, the Orlando Magic seem to have found their stride last week. The Magic were 2-2 last week, with both losses being close games that could've gone either way. Wagner remains a cornerstone in Orlando, along with young players such as Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Markelle Fultz.
#3 Cade Cunningham
Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #1
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 0; Games lost - 3
Overall: Games played - 54; Games won - 17; Games lost - 37
Last Week: PPG - 24.0, APG - 7.3, RPG - 7.0
Overall: PPG - 16.9, APG - 5.3, RPG - 5.9
Last Week: FG% - 46.8%, 3P% - 31.3%, SPG - 0.0
Overall: FG% - 40.5%, 3P% - 32.1%, SPG - 1.1.
Cade Cunningham drops to number three in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. Cunningham didn't have a bad week though, averaging 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in three games for the Detroit Pistons.
The first overall pick fell in this week's rankings because the Pistons went 0-3 last week. Although team results are not a major factor most of the time, it would matter for the ROTY rankings because of how close the top three are.
Cunningham did all he could to keep the Pistons afloat, but it didn't result in any wins.
#2 Evan Mobley
Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #3
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 2; Games lost - 2
Overall: Games played - 60; Games won - 36; Games lost - 24
Last Week: PPG - 22.0, APG - 2.3, RPG - 9.0
Overall: PPG - 15.1, APG - 2.6, RPG - 8.3
Last Week: FG% - 54.5%, 3P% - 28.6%, BPG - 1.5
Overall: FG% - 50.3%, 3P% - 26.2%, BPG - 1.7.
Evan Mobley has climbed up to second in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. Mobley led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 2-2 record last week, averaging 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, while shooting 54.5% from the field.
The third overall pick definitely benefited from the absence of Jarrett Allen. Mobley has shown that he can score if needed, while maintaining his amazing team defense. He also scored a career-high 30 points on Monday night in the 120-111 win over the LA Clippers.
#1 Scottie Barnes
Previous week’s NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #2
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 4; Games lost - 0
Overall: Games played - 60; Games won - 33; Games lost - 27
Last Week: PPG - 20.3, APG - 4.3, RPG - 7.8
Overall: PPG - 15.3, APG - 3.4, RPG - 7.6
Last Week: FG% - 53.0%, 3P% - 44.4%, SPG - 2.0
Overall: FG% - 49.1%, 3P% - 31.4%, SPG - 1.2.
Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors is atop this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. Barnes has been playing some incredible basketball since the All-Star break, averaging 20.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in four games last week.
The 20-year-old rookie was the Raptors' best player last week, leading the team to a 4-0 record. It's even more impressive because all four of those wins came on the road against the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and LA Lakers.
