http://www.nba.com/blog/blog30.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sorry Emeka: Ben Gets My ROY Vote The ballots aren't due until the end of the season but I'm casting mine right now .... Ben Gordon for NBA Rookie of the Year. I know, I know ..... a former Bull voting for a fellow Bull, right? Well, the numbers back up my case. We'll get to that in a second, though. I think Ben deserves the honor over Emeka Okafor of the Bobcats because he's been much more productive while playing less minutes. Plus, the Bulls are winning. Gordon's production in a limited amount of time means a lot more than Okafor's, who plays a lot of minutes and speads his numbers over four four quarters for an expansion team. Gordon's proving that he can come in and do it in just in the fourth quarter for a winning team. At last check, Ben has recorded 18 double figure scoring fourth quarters this season. Where does that rank in the NBA? No. 1. Think about that. That's ahead of such great scorers as Iverson, Kobe and T-Mac. Now, check out the numbers between Ben and Emeka: Ben --- Points-- 14.9; Minutes Per Game: 23.8, FG -- 42.5%; FT -- .847%; Rebounds -- 2.6; Assists -- 1.8; Team Victories = 35 Emeka ---Points -- 14.8; Minutes Per Game: 35.7; FG -- .44%; FT -- .575%; Rebounds -- 10.7; Assists -- .9; Team Victories = 13 As you can see, Emeka is playing 12 minutes more per game yet they are neck and neck in terms of scoring averages. Naturally, Emeka is going to pull down more rebounds than Ben but their shooting percentages are close and Ben doesn't take nearly as many high percentage shots as Emeka does. Plus, Ben has the advantage from the free throw line -- .847% compared to .575%. Not only do I think Ben is deserving of top rookie honors, I also think he should win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award as well. I know it would be the first time for any rookie to achieve this double double but nobody expected the Bulls to be in the playoffs this season and Gordon's play off the bench is a big reason why. This kid has been expected to come in and play a huge role down the stretch of games and is delivering time and time again. I think Scott Skiles' strategy of inserting him in the game off the bench is great because Gordon is a huge spark for the team. If you put Ben out there as a starter, the Bulls would lose some of their bench strength. Plus, other teams haven't been able to figure Gordon out because he's not out on the floor a whole lot. These young kids on the Bulls have really worked hard. A year ago, they were at the bottom of the barrel. But now, with the development of Kirk Hinrich and the coaching of Skiles, this is a very scary team going into the playoffs. In my mind, Hinrich should merit All-NBA Third Team honors for what he is doing in only his second season. The Bulls have primarily being doing it with their defense -- strong defensive rebounding while eliminating most teams to only one shot per trip down the floor. Skiles is really doing a great job of rotating the young players. If you put five of them out there at one time, you really don't give yourself a lot of room for coaching any one individual. Skiles will pull Tyson Chandler out and say "Look, you're going to have to play behind Eddy Curry and earn your minutes. Andres Nocioni, you gotta play behind Luol Deng, and Ben Gordon, you have to earn your minutes behind Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon." This way, the younger players can learn a lot watching from the bench and Skiles is always gonna have fresh meat out there. Bottom Line: Ben is doing more with less minutes for a winning team. And isn't that what really counts -- the rookie making the most impact in helping his team win? Posted by Scottie Pippen - Mar 24 2005 12:28PM --

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