I know there's a lot of us that really enjoy following the draft, so I thought it would be fun to get some discussion going on the rookies around the league, and who has outperformed your expectations, underperformed, etc etc.

I'll space out each section as well, to help break everything up a bit:

Dyson Daniels: Being this is Pels talk it makes sense to start with our rookie, Dyson Daniels. There's not much that needs to be said that hasn't already been said somewhere on the board, but it's safe to say he's contributed early than most probably thought he would. His efficiencies have dipped in the last 10, shooting 40% from the field and 32% from three with 5.4 pts, 3 rbs, and 2.1 asts in about 22.5 minutes a night, plus the obvious defensive contributions. I think we can all agree we like where he currently is.

Paolo Banchero: The best rookie has unarguably been 1st pick Paolo Banchero. I thought it was crazy he was being considered the 3rd overall pick for much of the pre-draft process, but so far, while it's early, looks like Orlando made the right pick. He's averaging 21 pts, 7 rbs, and 4 asts per game on 45% from the field and 32% from three. Defensively, I would say he's been about what you expected. Hasn't been god awful, but hasn't been good either.

Bennedict Mathurin: The other highly talked about rookie has been Benedict Mathurin. He came out the gates scorching, scoring 19 pts per game on 42% shooting from three and 44% from the field during the first five weeks of the season. But over the last month he has gone cold, shooting just 21% from three and 38% from the field. His on/off stats defensively have been VERY positive so far though.

Jeremy Sochan: Jeremy Sochan has sort of come on as of late. He missed 5 games in late November/early December but since returning he has scored on average 10 pts, with 6 rbs and 4 asts a night on 43% from the field and 21% from three. In his last 5 he's averaged 14, 8, and 4, and he's been quite good defensively. He's a guy to keep an eye on.

Jaden Ivey: Jaden Ivey is an interesting discussion for whether he has exceeded or failed to meet expectations, as he was another guy that was very controversial. He's averaging 15.5 pts, 4.2 rbs, and 4.0 asts. Sounds very good for a rookie, but he's been one of the more inefficient guards in the league, bottom 20%, and his ast/to ratio is amongst the bottom 30% of guards in the league.

Jabari Smith: We've said all this and haven't mentioned the guy that leads rookies in total minutes, third pick Jabari Smith Jr. He has scored a modest 12 pts a night, grabbed 7 rbs, and dished out 0.8 asts a night. Perhaps the most surprising, he's only shooting 34% from three, and has only shot 32% from three since the calendar changed to December. The Rockets have actually been a good bit worse with him on the floor, offensively.

Keegan Murray: I would say Keegan Murray has settled in about where we all expected. He's been good but quiet, 12 pts a game, only 4 rbs a game, the same .8 ast as Smith. He's shooting 43% from the field and is up to 39% from three after shooting 47% from three in December, on 6.5 attempts a game. Though those 6.5 threes take up nearly 63% of his shots per night. He too, at least according to on/off stats, has been very good defensively.

AJ Griffin: AJ Griffin had cracked the starting lineup there for Atlanta for a while, starting 7 games at the beginning of December. While he averaged 14 pts per game, he shot sub 30% from three in those games as a starter. He's shot 41% from three coming off the bench. For the season he's averaged 11 pts per game, with 2 boards and 1 ast, on 47% from the field and 37% from three. He's now a key piece of the Hawks rotation, and has been perfectly average defensively, which I would say has exceeded expectations.

Andrew Nembhard: Andrew Nembhard was the first pick of the second round for the Indiana Pacers, and has started 21 of his last 22 games. In those games he's averaged about 30 minutes a night, along with 10 pts, 4 rbs, and 4 asts, on an efficient 49% from the field and 39% from three. Though he's been quite bad defensively.

This post was edited on 12/28/22 at 12:05 pm