Well, we've just passed the point where the NBA takes a break and TNT tries really hard to make All-Star Weekend as exciting as the Winter Olympics. It seems like a good time to look at this year's rookies!

Note, all of the numbers here are from games before the all-star game.

2013-14 Rookies with more than 500 minutes

NAME	TM	POS	GP	MIN	WP48	WP	PoP48	PTS	REB	AST
Plumlee, Mason	BRK	C	41	638	.199	2.6	3.1	19.2	10.1	1.1
Thompson, Hollis	PHI	GF	50	1057	.130	2.9	1.0	13.2	7.9	1.7
Adams, Steven	OKC	C	55	794	.121	2.0	0.7	11.1	14.0	2.1
Dellavedova, Matthew	CLE	PG	43	632	.097	1.3	-0.1	12.1	4.4	5.6
Antetokounmpo, Giannis	MIL	SF	47	1133	.092	2.2	-0.2	13.8	9.0	3.4
Jr., Tim Hardaway	NYK	SF	51	1068	.092	2.0	-0.2	21.0	3.4	2.0
Wolters, Nate	MIL	PG	41	886	.082	1.5	-0.5	15.0	5.4	7.6
Snell, Tony	CHI	SF	46	881	.074	1.4	-0.8	13.9	5.0	2.4
Calathes, Nick	MEM	PG	41	682	.065	.9	-1.1	14.5	5.0	7.7
Oladipo, Victor	ORL	SG	54	1723	.052	1.9	-1.5	20.8	6.6	6.0
Carter-Williams, Michael	PHI	PG	42	1453	.048	1.5	-1.6	23.8	7.5	9.0
Caldwell-Pope, Kentavious	DET	SG	50	1185	.033	.8	-2.0	13.7	4.3	1.8
Pressey, Phil	BOS	PG	49	680	.003	0	-3.0	8.5	3.7	9.0
Kelly, Ryan	LAL	PF	31	611	.002	0	-3.0	17.5	7.5	2.7
Zeller, Cody	CHA	PF	53	884	-.002	0	-3.1	14.5	11.6	3.1
Olynyk, Kelly	BOS	C	44	816	-.005	-.1	-3.2	17.8	12.1	4.1
McLemore, Ben	SAC	SG	53	1236	-.021	-.5	-3.7	15.7	5.7	2.0
Burke, Trey	UTH	PG	40	1232	-.026	-.7	-3.9	19.4	4.8	8.5
Bennett, Anthony	CLE	PF	41	513	-.171	-1.8	-8.4	14.4	10.8	1.0

As usual, I like to compare the lists sorted by procuction (above) to the list sorted by minutes played (below) and see how they compare:

2013-14 Rookies, sorted by minutes played (minimum 500 minutes)

NAME	TM	POS	GP	MIN	WP48	WP	PoP48	PTS	REB	AST
Oladipo, Victor	ORL	SG	54	1723	.052	1.9	-1.5	20.8	6.6	6.0
Carter-Williams, Michael	PHI	PG	42	1453	.048	1.5	-1.6	23.8	7.5	9.0
McLemore, Ben	SAC	SG	53	1236	-.021	-.5	-3.7	15.7	5.7	2.0
Burke, Trey	UTH	PG	40	1232	-.026	-.7	-3.9	19.4	4.8	8.5
Caldwell-Pope, Kentavious	DET	SG	50	1185	.033	.8	-2.0	13.7	4.3	1.8
Antetokounmpo, Giannis	MIL	SF	47	1133	.092	2.2	-0.2	13.8	9.0	3.4
Jr., Tim Hardaway	NYK	SF	51	1068	.092	2.0	-0.2	21.0	3.4	2.0
Thompson, Hollis	PHI	GF	50	1057	.130	2.9	1.0	13.2	7.9	1.7
Wolters, Nate	MIL	PG	41	886	.082	1.5	-0.5	15.0	5.4	7.6
Zeller, Cody	CHA	PF	53	884	-.002	0	-3.1	14.5	11.6	3.1
Snell, Tony	CHI	SF	46	881	.074	1.4	-0.8	13.9	5.0	2.4
Olynyk, Kelly	BOS	C	44	816	-.005	-.1	-3.2	17.8	12.1	4.1
Adams, Steven	OKC	C	55	794	.121	2.0	0.7	11.1	14.0	2.1
Calathes, Nick	MEM	PG	41	682	.065	.9	-1.1	14.5	5.0	7.7
Pressey, Phil	BOS	PG	49	680	.003	0	-3.0	8.5	3.7	9.0
Plumlee, Mason	BRK	C	41	638	.199	2.6	3.1	19.2	10.1	1.1
Dellavedova, Matthew	CLE	PG	43	632	.097	1.3	-0.1	12.1	4.4	5.6
Kelly, Ryan	LAL	PF	31	611	.002	0	-3.0	17.5	7.5	2.7
Bennett, Anthony	CLE	PF	41	513	-.171	-1.8	-8.4	14.4	10.8	1.0

The rookies that get the most burn don't correlate to the rookies that perform best. Some of this is due to all kinds of logical reasons a coach might have, and some of this is just questionable coaching. J.R. Smith is a) on track for one of the worst shooting seasons of all time and b) acting like a buffoon. There is simply no good reason at all that he's ahead of Tim Hardaway Jr. in the depth chart. Kendrick Perkins has been terrible for years; there's no reason he should be ahead of Nick Collison in the rotation, much less Steven Adams.

There are some big surprises here, and Adams might top the list, with Mason Plumlee right behind him (who'd have thought that the Nets best big man would be a rookie??). There are also some negative surprises, like Oladipo and Caldwell-Pope, although it is much too soon for either for us to draw grand conclusions. And then, of course, there's Bennett, who desperately needs a D-league stint.

Trey Burke has really underperformed, but I think he has a bright future because his assist-to-turnover ratio is above average, and that's a great sign for a rookie. And of course it says a lot about Utah's current plight that even as a bad player, he is a huge upgrade over JLIII.

Michael Carter Williams is probably still a lock to win the RoY award, but he's cooled down a lot. As with all things 76ers, pace is a factor; the Sixers play at an absurd pace, way ahead of second-place Minnesota, but even if you adjust for pace, his rebounding, steals and blocks are impressive. I remain really high on his future, because shooting has tons of variance, but those other factors do not. I will be very curious to see if Brown intends to maintain this pace once all of Rod Thorn's players have been washed off this roster; it wouldn't surprise me at all if they slow down a lot once they have their desired players in place.

Which brings me to another big surprise: Philly's best player is not Thad Young or Evan Turner or even MCW. It's an undrafted rookie.  Hollis Thompson is shooting well (56% true shooting), rebounding well, and doesn't turn the ball over. It looks like he could turn in to a great "3 and D" guy.

The "Greek Freak" remains intriguing, and has even gotten me to do something that I didn't think I would do this year: watch a Bucks game (I'm sorry, Milwaukee, but you lost me at "OJ Mayo"). Still, a 6'9" wing with freakish hands is fun to watch. He's still pretty raw but I'd be very high on this guy right now; he gets in foul trouble a lot, but rookies often do. He's a prime candidate to have a big second year if he gets playing time.

Predictably absent from both of these lists are Minnesota's rookies. At least I can be happy that they aren't low on list one and high on list two, although since the Wolves are now out of the playoff hunt (in every way but mathematically), that might change.