Hollinger: Under-the-Radar Storylines (Rockets & Carl Landry

6. The rookie race

I realize the general consensus is that the Rookie of the Year race is over, and to the extent that it isn't over is because Al Horford is pushing Kevin Durant for the top honor.

But allow me to bring two other names to your attention. At the very least, these guys deserve to be named first-team All-Rookie, instead of the usual pattern of voting for players who played a lot of minutes but didn't necessarily play them well. (Somewhere, Adam Morrison is quietly taking a bow).

The first is Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young. He's the same age as Durant and has a better PER at 16.33. In fact, his ascension into the starting lineup has been one of the catalysts behind the Sixers' playoff push. Philly is 20-16 when he plays at least 12 minutes, and 11-6 when he plays at least 24.

The 6-foot-8 teenager ranks second among all NBA small forwards in both shooting percentage (52.6 percent, second only to Atlanta's Josh Childress) and rebound rate (surpassed only by fellow rook Jared Dudley of Charlotte).

Better yet, his closet is skeleton-free. In talking to some Sixers people before a recent game, they seem as impressed by his character as they were by his game. He still has to improve his jumper and see the floor better, but he has superstar potential and nobody's talking about him.

Yet one player has been even more impressive than Young, at least in his rookie season. His name is Carl Landry ... or as I've taken to calling him, Carl Landry!

As in, guess who's averaging 19.3 points and 12.9 boards per 40 minutes? Carl Landry!

Can you believe who's shooting 62.7 percent from the floor? Carl Landry!

Do you know who's fifth among all power forwards in rebound rate, ahead of David Lee and Kevin Garnett? My goodness, it's Carl Landry!

Care to guess who's leading all rookies in PER? Yep ... Carl Landry!

Better yet, have you heard who has the best PER on a 37-20 Houston team with two perennial All-Stars? Would you believe ... Carl Landry!

The second-round pick from Purdue was an afterthought in Houston's preseason plans -- 6-7 power forwards with limited shooting range haven't had the greatest track record in the NBA. As a result, he only played in three games prior to New Year's Day.

But on Jan. 11, he went 7-for-7 against Minnesota and hasn't been out of the rotation since. The fact that Landry's increased playing time has been met with a 13-game Houston win streak is not a coincidence. The Rockets are 17-1 when Landry plays more than 10 minutes, and 20-19 when he doesn't.

I'll grant that his numbers have only been generated in 377 minutes and it seems unlikely that he can keep up quite such a prolific pace. Nonetheless, any discussion of the league's top rookies has to include Landry. He's been brilliant at both ends when he's played, and it's not his fault he was nailed to the bench for half the season.



9. Houston's surprising D

Remember when Rick Adelman took over for Jeff Van Gundy and we presumed it would make the Rockets a better offensive team and a worse defensive team?

Turns out the Rockets haven't changed their stripes much, ranking second in the league in defensive efficiency. Houston is second in field goal percentage defense at 43.4 percent, second in 3-point attempts allowed at 14.6 per game, and fifth in defensive rebound rate at 75.2 percent.

And I'll be watching them closely to see if they can improve those numbers. For all the negatives associated with losing Yao Ming and the undeniable impact it will have at the offensive end, Tuesday's win over Washington showed one other effect: It brings back Mt. Mutombo.

Just as he did a year ago when Yao went out, Dikembe Mutombo appears to be saving his best for when he's needed most. Last season the Rockets went 20-12 with Yao sidelined because Mutombo found the fountain of youth. This season he had been all but useless until the finger-wagging special against Washington, in which he blocked four shots in 23 minutes ... which was more than he'd played in the previous two months combined.

In a related story, Washington scored only 23 points in the first half as the Rockets rolled to their 13th straight win.

Obviously, losing Yao leaves a major hole at the offensive end. But if Mutombo's presence takes the defense to an even higher level, and the spark from the aforementioned Landry can make up some of the offense, the damage to the Rockets might be far less than initially feared.

It's stunning to see the Rockets defending so well while incorporating three rookies (Landry, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola) to the rotation and making heavy use of players like Tracy McGrady and Luther Head who aren't exactly renowned for their defensive chops. Also, they've picked it up in the past two months now that everyone is on the same page and a regular rotation has been established.

Give Adelman a ton of credit for realizing that he couldn't win in Houston the way he won in Sacramento, and give players like Rafer Alston and Shane Battier credit for holding the fort together while the kids figured things out. The Rockets may not be pretty to watch, but their suffocating defense might just lead them to a successful season in spite of Yao's absence.

Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...umnist=hollinger_john&page=Storylines-080228b