Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, fighting Lakers center Jordan Hill for the ball, is being penciled in as Denver's starting power forward. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
The 22nd pick in the NBA draft finished third in the voting for rookie of the year. Not a bad accomplishment for Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, who began the season on the end of the bench and finished the season averaging a double-double in the playoffs.
The Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, who hit a game-winning shot against Denver this season, won the NBA's top rookie award today. The point guard was the top pick in last summer's draft. Another point guard, Minnesota's Ricky Rubio, finished second in the voting.
Denver's Faried didn't play for the first third of the season, but he made a huge splash once he saw the floor, energizing teammates and fans alike with his emphatic dunks and voracious rebounding.
For the season, the 6-foot-8 Faried averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds ? and in the postseason against the Lakers, he averaged 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds.
Faried had two games that will stand out for years. Against the Celtics on St. Patricks' Day, he had 18 points and 16 rebounds in the Nuggets victory, and made all five field-goals attempts and all eight free-throw attempts. The game was played at Pepsi Center, where on March 17 the previous year, he blocked a potential game-winning shot for Morehead State, which shocked Louisville in the NCAA Tournament.
And Faried's best game of his rookie season happened April 9, when he had 27 points and 17 rebounds in only 24 minutes against Golden State.
Irving finished with 592 total voting points, while Rubio had 170 and Faried had 129.
Among rookies, Irving ranked first in scoring (18.5 ppg), field-goal percentage (.469) and free-throw percentage (.872), while placing second in assists (5.4 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.399).
big miracle slab city super bowl snacks appleton super bowl recipes denver weather planned parenthood
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.