The end of the regular season is winding down, so it's time to start thinking about who's going to be taking home the awards. With the Grizzlies in town on Monday to face the Phoenix Suns -- and with neither team having anything to play for but pride at this point -- I got the chance to speak with Memphis' coach Lionel Hollins about who he thinks should win Rookie of the Year.And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Hollins enthusiastically said O.J. Mayo (who just happens to be on his team) should be the clear cut choice.
"I think he should be number one," said Hollins, regarding Mayo's spot in the Rookie of the Year balloting. "He's been right at the top in all the offensive statistics. I'm sure that most people are thinking [Derrick] Rose, because they're going to give him all the credit for what Chicago's done in getting to the playoffs. But I think O.J. deserves it as much as anybody."
Statistically, Mayo actually leads the rookie class in points per game, but takes more shots to get there and shoots just 43 percent from the field. He's also seen by most as simply a scorer, whereas Rose is seen as a playmaker.
But Hollins still stuck with Mayo, and pointed to Chicago's status as a playoff team as the reason most people are likely going to side with Rose.
"When people talk [about Rose] that's what they talk about 'well you know, he's on a playoff team,' but that's never decided a Rookie of the Year before," Hollins continued. "I'm sure it will play in a lot of voters' minds because they're looking at the future, how good Rose is or how good Rose is going to be; a lot of people talk about because of his athleticism and what not. But if it's for this year, my guy numbers-wise is the Rookie of the Year."
It's not like Rose is so far above Mayo (or the rest of this year's class) that Hollins' comments are that ridiculous. It's just that with Rose being virtually the consensus pick to win the award, Hollins' statements seemed more like a coach sticking up for his guy than they did like a serious argument in Mayo's favor.
Which is fine, I guess. After all, Mike Brown did the same thing when he talked about LeBron James being his choice for MVP. Only in that case, he's not likely to find a whole lot of people that will disagree with him.
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