Who should be the NBA ROY?

Most casual fans will say that, just by numbers, Memphis guard,  O.J. Mayo, is the front runner for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and for the most part, I agree, he is having a great season averaging 19 points, 4 rebounds, and shooting 44 percent from the floor, 88 percent from the free throw line, and 37 percent from three-point land, all after a controversial off-season. 

But are there any other candidates for the crown?

I'll make the case for some under-publicized first year players having good seasons.

Marc Gasol- Yes the same Marc Gasol who started for Spain alongside his All-Star brother Pau in this past summers Olympic Games. Even though he was drafted by the Lakers in the 2nd round of the 2007 NBA draft, he is technically a rookie this season after playing overseas last season. He is currently Memphis' starting center and is showing some true skill, averaging 11 points (8th among rookies) and 7 rebounds (3rd among rookies) a game and shooting 52 percent(5th among rookies with at least 30 games played) from the field, and he is the fourth scoring option of the Grizzlies. He probably won't win, but he deserves a bit of recognition.

Kevin Love- The former UCLA center is averaging better than 8 points and 8 rebounds a game, off of the bench! He is 5th among all players in offensive rebounds with 136 boards. He is averaging 17.6 rebounds per 48 minutes, good for fourth in the NBA. So far in January, he has yet to have less than 7 rebounds in a game. In my book, giving your team more possessions is EXTREMELY valuable.

Mario Chalmers- Miami's rookie point guard is ranked 7th in steals per game, and 6th in total steals. He's proving to be a lock down defender on the perimeter. He has 12 games this season with at least 3 swipes, 7 of which he had 4 or more. He had 9 steals in a single game(against my Sixers, ugh) but he's putting it down in Miami. He's also shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.

Most of us know about Derrick Rose (Chicago), Michael Beasley (Miami) , Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), and Greg Oden (Portland, and last years #1 overall pick). These are just some cats to keep an eye out for , they may break into the starting lineup (Love) begin to post better numbers (Gasol), or my cause an impact in the playoff hunt(Chalmers). You just never know.