I’m writing this at 8:28 a.m. on a Thursday. The Wolves had yesterday off and will practice today. I ate ice cream at 11 last night and 83 percent of me regrets that.
Glad we could get you up to speed so fast. Now, let’s roll with this week’s column.
Rookie Of The Year Race
What race?
Exactly.
Karl-Anthony Towns could take off the rest of the season and still probably win the award.
Towns is averaging 17.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. He has 36 double-doubles in 65 games and has scored 20 or more points 24 times and has hauled in more than 10 rebounds 38 times.
So yeah, Towns has this award. But it’s not really fair to everyone else. Towns is so good that we’ve forgotten how good he is. And that he’s a freaking rookie.
Maybe there needs to be another award. Maybe call it, “I Would Have Won Rookie Of The Year Like Every Other Year But This Year” award.
Who are the candidates?
Here’s my Mount Rushmore of the second-place rookies:
Kristaps Porzingis: He’s fallen off a bit lately, but he’s been a rare bright spot for the Knicks this season. He’s averaging 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds and he’s hitting one out of every three 3-pointers. And he’s going to get better. He’s going to be a scary matchup when he starts, and he will, hitting 40 percent of his shots from deep. If you’re doing a re-draft, the Zinger probably goes second.
D’Angelo Russell: Byron Scott has finally released the crafty guard out of Ohio State. He’s averaging 13.3 points per game, which seems impossible considering how limited his playing time was early in the season. Russell has scored 21 or more points six of his last seven games, including a 39-point blowup against the Nets on March 1. It helps when Kobe Bryant isn’t taking 20 shots a game at a 30 percent clip.
I guess the last spot goes to Jahlil Okafor. Okafor has missed 12 games this season and is currently out with some sort of weird bruise. And it actually sounds like he could miss the rest of the season, so there’s no chance he ends here. If he’s on your fantasy basketball team and you’re in the playoffs, well, that sucks. Okafor can’t play a lick of defense, but we kind of knew that going into the season. He’s a great scorer, though, averaging 17.5 points per game. Offensively, he probably has a higher ceiling than Brook Lopez. Defensively, he’s like me.
Ah, remember the days when Towns vs. Okafor were a thing? #memories
Honorable mentions: Devin Booker, Myles Turner, Nikola Jokic
Speaking The Truth To The Youth
[[{“fid”:”52019″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:””,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:””},”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]
I had the chance to speak to the Alexandria High School journalism class on Monday this week and although it made me feel 83 years old, it was an awesome experience. I’m a ROCORI High School graduate and Alexandria was a conference rival when I was in school so this is kind of like Jacoby Ellsbury signing with the Yankees. But whatever.
Call me a traitor. I don’t care. I had a fun time chatting with kids who are four inches taller than me and 10 years younger than me.
A few tidbits on the talk:
Overall, it was a great experience. Plenty of talent in that class with thought-provoking questions. I certainly wish I had a class like that when I was a youngster.
Shows To Watch
We are doing an in-office vote on the best TV shows of all-time with a 64-show bracket. We are to the final four – “Breaking Bad” vs. “Seinfeld” and “Friends” vs. “Mad Men.”
If I had to guess, we’ll see a championship between Jerry and Chandler
In related news, there are so many freaking TV shows out there. Right when I start a show, someone is telling me to start a new one.
WHERE IS ALL THIS TIME COMING FROM?!
My next adventure is season four of “House of Cards” (eliminated in Sweet 16 of bracket).
Are you the last person on earth to get a Netflix account and need something to watch?
Here are the last few shows I’ve finished:
What’s Next For The Wolves?
The Wolves practiced today and the big news was that Nemanja Bjelica had a full practice. He’s questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s had an up-and-down season, but with the lack of depth at the forward position right now, his return is certainly welcomed.
You gotta feel for a guy like Greg Smith. Gets a chance back in the NBA and has an ingrown toenail. If you’ve ever had one, you know how painful (and kind of gross) it is.
The Wolves then play Phoenix on Monday, Memphis on Wednesday and Houston on Friday. Not the easiest stretch in the world, but Phoenix isn’t good, the Wolves always play Memphis tough and Houston is a freaking mess. Going 2-2 is a reasonable goal.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week.
As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.
