Three up, three down for Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard, who earned his third straight Western Conference Rookie of the Month award after leading all rookies with 17.7 points, 6.8 assists and 39.6 minutes in 16 games in January. He joined Brandon Roy as the only Portland player to win the award three times in row.
Lillard has scored 20 points or more 25 times this season (no other rookie has more than eight such games this season) and has dished out seven or more assists the same number of times. He's had nine games of at least 20 points and seven assists and has six double-doubles on the season.
But what may be most impressive of all about Lillard is his unflappable disposition. Good or bad, high or low, Lillard remains the same. After a 1-for-16 shooting performance against Orlando that produced a season-low 4 points, he answered with a 33-point outburst against the Miami Heat, one of the best defensive teams in the league. Lillard's even-keeled demeanor is a big reason why he leads all rookies in scoring (18.3 points per game) and assists (6.5), all while playing the most minutes (38.5).
Next up for Lillard is Friday's Rising Stars Challenge, followed by the skills competition Saturday night as part of the NBA's All-Star weekend festivities. The Blazers finish February with four more games and a chance for Lillard to make it four ROMs in a row.
Here's our weekly look at the NBA's top rookies -- as it relates to the Rookie of the Year race -- and how the national media ranks the first-year players. Below is a (fluid) list of the Top 5:
Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers | PG | 6-3, 195 | 6th pick in 2012Full statistics
PPG 18.3 | APG 6.5 | RPG 3.2 | SPG 1.0 | TOPG 3.0 | FG% .419 | 3P% .350 | FT% .856
Bradley Beal
Washington Wizards | SG | 6-4, 207 | 3rd pick in 2012Full statistics
PPG 13.2 | RPG 3.3 | APG 2.5 | TOPG 1.5 | FG% .393 | 3P% .365 | FT% .793
Anthony Davis
New Orleans Hornets | C | 6-10, 220 | 1st pick in 2012Full statistics
PPG 12.5 | RPG 7.5 | SPG 1.2 | BPG 1.9 | TOPG 1.5 | FG% .514 | FT% .702
Andre Drummond
Detroit Pistons | PF | 6-11, 279 | 9th pick in 2012Full statistics
PPG 7.3 | RPG 7.5 | BPG 1.7 | SPG 0.9 | FG% .592 | FT% .365
Dion Waiters
Cleveland Cavaliers | SG | 6-4, 221 | 4th pick in 2012Full statistics
PPG 14.5 | APG 3.2 | SPG 1.1 | TOPG 2.1 | FG% .396 | 3P% .309 | FT% .768
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