ROOKIE OF THE WEEK WATCH - Week 8

	TEAM	WHY	WHY NOT	STATS
Henry Ellenson PER 4.50 MVP	-	Ellenson is a workhorse for the Pistons and has handled his move to the bench quite admirably. He capped week 8 with a 16 points / 9 boards (4 offensive boards) performance against the Mavs - in only 18 minutes of play! Ellenson has been a pain in the side of opposing teams, showing intensity, strength and hustle. He's the guy you watch out for when the 2nd unit is in... always picking up the key rebound or enforcing the lane.	Henry had two games this week in which he only scored 2 points per game. His performance against the Bulls was 0-1 shooting with only 2 free throws. Hard to designate an ROTW award to a player who had a fairly lackluster performance like this.	PTS REB AST STL BLK
Brandon Ingram PER 28.29 MVP	-	The kid is ballin' in his rookie season. Charlotte has the stable of rookies this season, and Ingram is the stud in that stable. He capped week 8 with a 29 point performance against the Nuggets, snagging 5 rebounds and blocking 2 shots as well. Ingram has gone for 20+ in 18 games this season. He's the present and future of the Hornets. It's not likely that he's hit his talent and physical ceiling quite yet - there's untapped potential in this guy.	The grind of the NLL season has not been kind to the kid. 5 of his last 8 games have seen him score under 10 points. His shooting has faltered, with performances as woeful as 3-of-15 and even 1-of-11. It's taken him a lot of shots to get his points over the course of the season. Ingram is in the top 10 in field goal attempts and three point attempts - there's just not enough of them consistently going in... yet.	PTS REB AST STL BLK
Dario Saric PER 11.51 MVP	-	Dario contributed solidly in a 3-1 week for the Warriors. Splits of 14/5 and 15/3 in about 20 minutes of play... these are numbers that get you strong consideration for ROTW. Saric went through a rough patch in Golden State season and seems to be getting his early season magic back. The Warriors have benefited heavily on Saric's contributions off the bench this year.	One would like to see more consistency in Dario's numbers. When his point production goes up, he seems to lose some focus on the boards. The team might prefer to see 8 and 8 instead of 12 and 3. For a 6'10" player, he lacks blocked shots that you'd hope his height might generate, especially with the quick hands he shows in generating a fairly consistent steal per game.	PTS REB AST STL BLK
Jake Layman PER 13.83 MVP	-	The late 2nd round pick by Portland has exceeded expectations on a team that has few expectations to begin with. Jake had a very solid Week 8 in which he averaged 5 points and 3 boards OVER his season averages. He shot 89% from the charity stripe and his blocks per game and FG% were up as well. Jake's game won't blow people away, but the fans in Portland have been appreciative of his efforts of late. Layman could easily be another piece to build around for the Trailblazer organization.	It's Jake... from Portland. The Blazers are having a tough season, so it is reasonable to give young guys a chance to show their mettle. Layman is a journeyman-type on most teams. Hard to give a guy ROTW honors on a team that's won 5 games.	PTS REB AST STL BLK
Malcolm Brogdon PER 12.68 MVP	-	Malcolm truly is in the middle of the Lakers' success this season. A Week 8 performance of 11 points/9 assists against the Thunder warrants his nomination here. Brogdon has been a consistent floor general for LA, and Week 8 has been a great example of it. He's been so solid from the foul line all year - averaging 91% from the line. You couldn't ask for a lot more from this guy, especially on a squad that won the NLL last year.	Brogdon's inexperience against NBA talent has resulted in 2.5 turnovers per game in Week 8. He also shot only 17% from three. The kid needs to keep working on his ball protection and maybe spend a little more time in practice on his 3's.	PTS REB AST STL BLK
Jaylen Brown PER 23.45 MVP	-	Jaylen is THE MAN in Portland this year. No other West rookie is counted on as much to help his team. Brown is in the top 10 in free throw attempts, so he is demanding a high degree of attention from opposing defenses. His shining moment is Week 8? A 30-point performance, going 5-of-6 from the arc against the Rockets.	The cupboard is pretty bare in Portland and Jaylen is simply the result of the rest of the team not being effective at keeping pace in the NLL. Jaylen laid an egg against OKC, going an abominable 1-of-18 for 5 points. Really hard to ignore this game in spite of a strong performance against the Rockets - a week of extremes for Brown.	PTS REB AST STL BLK