Cousins Sits Atop NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder

After the slate of summer league games come to a close each day, NBA.com’s Drew Peckham puts together his ”Rookie Ladder”. His ladder varies each and every day. If a player is strait beast, they rise. If they are strait crap, they fall. It is ever-fluctuating.

Well, today some recognizable names sit atop that ladder with the King’s DeMarcus Cousins taking the top rung. Here is what Peckham had to say about Cousins. It’s pretty much the same thing I rambled on-and-on about last night.

“Cousins takes over the top spot after a monster showing in the Kings’ 79-78 win over the Wolves. Cousins had 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and the game-winning hook shot with 2.9 seconds left. Cousins has been a beast in Vegas and looks like a real threat in the Rookie of the Year race.”

A former Louisville Cardinal in Derrick Caracter sits second and the No. 1 overall pick of the draft, John Wall, is third.

On Caracter, “For the first time in four games, Caracter fell short of a double-double, but still had an impressive showing. Caracter had 14 points, five rebounds and four blocks in the Lakers’ 90-84 loss to the Kings.”

On Wall, “Wall had 18 points and 10 assists Monday, but also had eight turnovers. He missed both 3-point attempts, but showed off quickness on defense, tallying five steals.”

The Laker’s Devin Ebanks and the Suns’ Gani Lawal close out the Top 5. Two Laker rookies impressing in summer league. You normally don’t expect the defending NBA champion to have two guys lighting it up during desert play.

Former Wildcat and current Houston Rocket, Patrick Patterson or P Twice, ranks sixth.

On Patterson, “Patterson had another solid game to close out his Summer League. In the Rockets’ 82-75 win over Denver, Patterson had six points and 10 rebounds with a pair of blocks. I don’t expect Patterson to put up big numbers his rookie season, but he could be a key contributor off the bench.”

Keep up with Drew Beckham’s NBA Rookie Ladder by visiting his blog.

http://www.nba.com/rookieladder/?ls=iref:nbahpt1