Rookies Run Riot - Sophomores Slump

Forgive the gratuitously tabloidesque title, I couldn't resist (it was better than the alternative, How about them Rookies, Huh?). The Draft Class of 2009 have snapped a seven-year losing streak for the Rookie side in impressive fashion, with Tyreke Evans and DeJuan Blair dominating proceedings in a 140-128 victory.

The secret to the Rookies' electric energy was said to be Brandon Jennings' New Jack haircut (22 pts, 8 ast, 6 reb, 4 stl).

Nobody (including myself) gave them much of a chance against the size of the Soph's Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez and Kevin Love, and the scoring of Beasley, OJ Mayo, Westbrook et al. But the sheer Blanka-like energy of Blair set the tone, and the unstoppable drives of Tyreke Evans' produced highlights like this:



Amidst a freewheeling, high-scoring game, something quickly becoming clear: Brook Lopez was going to lose his 56th game of the year (including preseason). DeJuan Blair was truly everywhere, gobbling up 23 rebounds to go with his 22 points. The play in which he scored his 20th point summed up his night: Brook raked and smouthered him while he shot, trying to avoid the humiliation of giving up the "20-20" statline. DeJuan's strength was just too much. He sank the bucket, and earned a FT. But despite the symbolic significance of that sequence, the highlight of the night had to have been this monster:



Russell Westbrook tried to reproduce his team-mate Kevin Durant's dominating 46 points in this game last year (Russell scored 40, but lost - a fine Durant impression tbf), firing bundles of jumpers in a fairly naked attempt to break the record and claim MVP. He and Beasley chewed up most of the Soph's possessions, combining for 54 shots. Conversely, the Rookies shared the ball - seven guys took 10+ shots - and conducted energetic perimeter play, negating their size disadvantage.

Eventually, the MVP award went to Tyreke Evans (26 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast, 5 stl), who graciously offered to share it with a deserving DeJuan.

Another fitting moment-capture: Tyreke and DeJuan hoist the MVP award, while Westbrook gazes wistfully at it, thinking about what could've been...

The Dunk-In:
Eric Gordon took about a dozen attempts on each slam, while DeRozan executed both dunks with an effortless, matter-of-fact brutality. Watching Gordon's repeated misses and growing frustration was akin to watching Dukie fumbling with the pistol in The Wire, failing to cock it back fully, a picture of helplessness.

Erm, is OJ Mayo allowed to help me?

The voting system was predictably screwed up by NBA.com, who apparently don't know the difference between Gordon and DeRozan. Demar won with 61% of the vote, but who did people really have in mind when they clicked the "Vote Now" button? It's like Florida 2000 all over again...