New York, NY (Sportsbooks) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and guard O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies were named Eastern and Western Conference rookies of the month, respectively, for games played from the start of the season through November. Rose garnered the award after starting his NBA career by scoring in double figures in all but one game to date, averaging 38 minutes while leading all Eastern Conference rookies with 18.4 points and 6.0 assists per contest. He led his team in scoring six times and in assists 13 times, becoming the first Bulls rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to score 10 or more points in his first 10 games. Rose wasted little time in getting started, handing out nine assists in his NBA debut -- the second-most by a No. 1 pick in his first game since the modern draft began in 1966. The Memphis product set a career high with 26 points in a win against Memphis on November 1 and then matched it 10 days later in a loss to the Hawks. He went on to record a pair of 25-point games against the Lakers in a November 18 loss and then in a win against Utah on November 24. Mayo ranks in the top 10 among rookies in seven major categories and leads all rookies in scoring with 21.9 points per game, the highest scoring average for a first-year player since Allen Iverson averaged 23.4 points in 1996-97. He is also the first rookie to notch four 30-plus point performances in his first 17 career games since Iverson had five such games. Other players in consideration for honors in the East included Miami's Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, New Jersey's Brook Lopez and Milwaukee's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlotte's D.J. Augustin while Western candidates included the Grizzlies' Marc Gasol and Portland's Rudy Fernandez. |
