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NBA: 10 Opening Week Overreactions That Might Be Legitimate

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after defeating the Phoenix Suns 113-110 in overtime at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after defeating the Phoenix Suns 113-110 in overtime at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) stands for the national anthem prior to action against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Joel Embiid Wins Rookie Of The Year — Handily

With Ben Simmons out indefinitely, Joel Embiid really only has to stay healthy to handily win this year’s Rookie of the Year Award. He’s been stellar, and he really doesn’t have much competition so far.

That’ll likely change as teams start trusting their rookies more and the tanking teams let their young guys get more burn, but Embiid’s 17.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game rank first, first and — yep, you guessed it! — first among all NBA rookies.

The next closest scorer is Jake Layman at 17.0 points per game, but he’s only played one game this season and as much fun as they were, those 17 points came in garbage time of a 23-point loss to the Warriors. After Layman is Philly’s own Dario Saric at 10.3 points per game.

The next closest rookie rebounder is Toronto’s Pascal Siakam (5.3 per game) and the next closest shot-blocker is San Antonio’s Davis Bertans (1.0 per game).  Suffice it to say that Embiid has dominated the early ROY conversation, and he’ll probably continue to do so.

The scary thing is that he’s putting up those gargantuan numbers in only 20.9 minutes per game. With the Philadelphia 76ers limiting his playing time, he’ll hopefully be able to avoid injuries in his rookie season. I mean, this is a seven-footer shooting 40 percent from three as a rookie, people! Who doesn’t want to see him excel, even if it’s in limited action?

Kris Dunn could challenge for this spot with Ricky Rubio out, and Brandon Ingram‘s numbers should improve once he’s finally moved into the starting rotation later in the year, but as of right now, it looks like Embiid holds a sizable advantage in the Rookie of the Year category.