Ben Mclemore wins Western Conference Rookie of The Month

[Chubbs]

Oladipo and MCW really aren't playing that well... They both just essentially have total control of their teams. Im not worried about Ben at all. We've seen growth in the short time he's been a starter. His D on Westbrook was pretty damn good and gave us just a little taste of the kind of defender he can be.

After watching both of them (MCW and Oladipo) both nearly get triple doubles, I'm going to have to disagree with you. They are miles beyond where Ben is right now.

 

[Bricklayer]

Well to be fair to Ben, he was the most consistent and efficient ... out of well ... him and Steven Adams. I easily see him winning 2-3 more West Rookie of the Months. Who else in the West is really going to put up any competition other than Burke? But he's not and shouldn't be anywhere close in the discussion for ROY. That belongs to MCW/Oladipo.

Ah, how the mighty have fallen. Brings me back to the Western Conference Rookie halcyon days of 2009 when even with Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio not playing in what should have been their rookie years, every month you had these battling for ROM:

Evans 20.1pts (.458 .255 .748) 5.3reb 5.8ast 1.5stl 0.4blk 3.0TO
Curry 17.5pts (.462 .437 .885) 4.5reb 5.9ast 1.9stl 0.2blk 3.0TO
Thornton 14.5pts (.451 .374 .814) 2.9reb 1.6ast 0.8stl 0.2blk 1.0TO
Flynn 13.5pts (.417 .358 .826) 2.4reb 4.4ast 1.0stl 0.0blk 2.9TO
Collison 12.4pts (.477 .400 .851) 2.5reb 5.7ast 1.0stl 0.1blk 2.7TO
Harden 9.9pts (.403 .375 .808) 3.2reb 1.8ast 1.1stl 0.3blk 1.4TO
Lawson 8.3pts (.515 .410 .757) 1.9reb 3.1ast 0.7stl 0.0blk 1.3TO

compared to:

McLemore 9.1pts (.368 .338 .821) 2.8reb 1.0ast 0.8stl 0.2blk 1.0TO

He's the best rookie the WC has right now, and he would have been the EIGHTH best in 2009. At best. There were a couple of other guys too. And again, that's with 2 of the best in Blair and Rubio sitting it out. Of course that doesn't go to the future -- several of those guys started out slow too and came on. Just goes to...blech.

 

[Livinthedream]

After watching both of them (MCW and Oladipo) both nearly get triple doubles, I'm going to have to disagree with you. They are miles beyond where Ben is right now.

I think there is some validity to MCW and Oladipo having the ball in their hands the majority of the time. They have a different skill set and different position. Ben, at this point in time, is completely reliant on his teammates to get him the ball in positions to score. I'm not sure that GV and IT trust him yet because they don't look his way. Doesn't help that Ben isn't knocking down shots he should be able to. Being a point guard on a team with little talent helps you put up bigger numbers, like Reke did.

 

[Chubbs]

I think there is some validity to MCW and Oladipo having the ball in their hands the majority of the time. They have a different skill set and different position. Ben, at this point in time, is completely reliant on his teammates to get him the ball in positions to score. I'm not sure that GV and IT trust him yet because they don't look his way. Doesn't help that Ben isn't knocking down shots he should be able to. Being a point guard on a team with little talent helps you put up bigger numbers, like Reke did.

and IT now actually.

MCW is the real deal though. Time will tell, but it's more than just having the ball. And his crazy length is leading to tons of steals.

 

[Livinthedream]

and IT now actually.

MCW is the real deal though. Time will tell, but it's more than just having the ball. And his crazy length is leading to tons of steals.

I didn't mean that MCW or Oladipo weren't good. I was speaking more to Ben's issue compared to them. Ben's ability to learn to handle the rock will determine just how good of a player he will become.

 

[mac]

I didn't mean that MCW or Oladipo weren't good. I was speaking more to Ben's issue compared to them. Ben's ability to learn to handle the rock will determine just how good of a player he will become.

I don't think it's a knock on Ben. He wasn't advertised as a guy who could create his own shot, and he's doing perfectly well in his current role. But all around the league the true stars are always those who create their own shots, regardless of position (though you could argue against Blake Griffin but let's leave him out of this discussion). Ben's shown a strong ability off the ball as a shooter. That basically describes Kyle Korver and JJ Redick, who are solid players but not stars. Obviously Ben is only a rookie and he has way more athleticism, so there's still a lot of potential to be tapped.

But that aside, speaking in terms of the present, there shouldn't be any question that MCW and Oladipo are outperforming and showing more star talent than McLemore.

 

[jalfa]

MCW is the real deal though. Time will tell, but it's more than just having the ball. And his crazy length is leading to tons of steals.

agreed and it's not just him in passing lanes. he gets a ton of his steals doubling down on big guys and attacking guys that have picked up their dribble. his timing and hands in those kinds of situations is insanely good. love watching that guy.