Rookies are always the big wild card for fantasy teams, and they are also the most likely players to see their values change incrementally as the season goes on.  So I like to check in about once a month and see how they’ve been doing.  With about 2 months in the books, let’s do a little November vs. December action and see if we can spot any trends. Without further ado, let’s pick out a couple of “rookies of note” and see if there’s anything to learn from their splits…

Adam Morrison, F, CHA
Nov: 15.3/2.9/2.1, 1.6 3’s, 0.5 stl, 0.2 blk, 39%/66% in 36 mpg.
Dec: 10.2/2.9/1.8, 0.9 3’s, 0.3 stl, 0.0 blk, 33%/86% in 28 mpg.
Despite being the leading scorer among NBA rookies, it’s been undeniably tough going for the ‘Stache here in his first few months.  He’s hardly ever getting to the line (1.3 fta in December) and obviously is struggling desperately to find his shot.  He’s lost his starting gig as well and is probably not startable in most leagues right now.  Still, you’ve gotta be patient here.  He’s still getting a ton of shots and the Bobcats are clearly letting him go through his growing pains right now.  If you can “stash the stache” on your bench then by all means do it, but if you’ve got no room on the bench then I think you’ve just gotta keep starting him until he breaks out of his funk.  His potential is just too good to drop him just yet.

Andrea Bargnani, F, TOR
Nov: 7.4/2.5/0.4, 0.5 3’s, 0.3 stl, 0.6 blk, 43%/82% in 16 mpg.
Dec: 12.2/4.6/0.5, 1.2 3’s, 0.2 stl, 1.2 blk, 40%/79% in 27 mpg.
Bargnani definitely turned some heads a few weeks back with an amazing 18 points, 10 boards, 6 blocks, a steal and 2 threes against Golden State in just 24 minutes of play.  He’ll surely see a small cut in production when Chris Bosh comes back but he’d been seeing a bump in minutes even before Bosh went down with an injury.  He’s getting more comfortable from the arc, even if he’s missing more of those shots than he’s making.  Bargnani is ownable and possibly startable right now if you’re looking to fill some games with an injured starter, which all of us probably have.

Jorge Garbajosa, F/C, TOR
Nov: 7.7/5.1/1.4, 0.5 3’s, 1.1 stl, 0.3 blk, 43%/62% in 25 mpg.
Dec: 11.1/6.3/2.5, 0.6 3’s, 1.1 stl, 0.3 blk, 44%/93% in 35 mpg.
Obviously a major benefactor of Bosh’s injury, Garbajosa may have some staying power in fantasy leagues.  First of all, he’s got some extra value because of his center eligibility, means fools like me who are counting on Troy Murphy to return to action this century are going to be willing to take a chance on the Garbage Man.  Secondly, he’s got some nice aspects to his game, including his knack for steals and willingness to shoot from the arc, that are tough to find from a center.  Things may change once Bosh returns but I’d guess that Garbajosa will continue to see minutes while Rasho Nesterovic returns to fantasy irrelevence.  Garbajosa is worth starting right now if you’ve got a hole at center and could be valuable in that role throughout the season, though that’s still up in the air.

Rudy Gay, F, MEM
Nov: 8.7/4.7/0.5, 0.5 3’s, 0.9 stl, 1.1 blk, 36%/63% in 25 mpg.
Dec: 9.4/3.1/0.9, 0.2 3’s, 1.1 stl, 0.6 blk, 43%/67% in 22 mpg.
Rudy was my preseason pick for a good late-round rookie to take a flyer on, and he’s shown potential, but not enough of it to own him right now.  All of the signs are there for value - he’s got nice defensive numbers, is a decent rebounder, and he’ll shoot the three, but the minutes just aren’t there and with Pau Gasol slowly returning, they may not be there for a good while.  Despite the higher-ups in the Grizzlies organization insisting that Gay gets more time on the court, his minutes and shots have been slipping and until that trend reverses itself, he’s safe to leave on the waiver wires.

Alexander Johnson, F, MEM
As Starting F: 7.6/5.6/0.6, 1.4 stl, 1 blk, 60%/62% in 25 mpg.
Johnson is the new starting PF in Memphis and has been playing his heart out, but you’ll have to pardon me if I’m not scrambling to my waiver wire to pick him up.  First of all, he’s a foul machine, as evidenced by his fouling out in just 13  minutes last week against the Spurs.  Secondly, as Gasol’s minutes go up, Johsnon’s will inevitably go down.  Finally, after a certainly sweet three-game stretch his last three have been pedestrian at best.  Johnson won’t have much value this year and is safe to leave on waiver wires, but it’s nice to know that he’s got some ability and we’ll keep an eye on him in the future.

Finally, I know a lot of you are wondering what’s up with Brandon Roy not being on this list, and of course he’s ownable and startabloe, it’s just that with only a couple games back from injury so far, he hasn’t had enough time to trend one way or the other.