The east coast voters will look at his stat line and leave him off. These are NBA awards we are talking about… it doesn’t matter how good you are it matters how big your stats look.

everyone votes for 5 first team guys, and 5 second team guys

but only if he comes back pretty soon and really starts to light it up over this last stretch. I’d certainly rather have him than those bigs, but I’d definitely say that those guys have had a better year overall than Greg has right now, which is why I see them on the team and Oden on the outside.

Starts really help Nic out & what he does when he is on the floor.

Most of the other players are logging 30+ minutes a game. Batum showed today what he can do with that kind of time, but the voters haven’t seen enough of him to give him a chance of making it. Besides Batum and Rudy the other players are getting lots more game time to improve, show their talents, and have people see them. This isn’t a knock or a bad thing for our rookies, except Bayless, who at pg I think would have made the biggest leap with more pt, we just can’t give it to him in the middle of the playoff hunt. He’s lost a lot of confidence it looks like right now, but with his work ethic I think he’ll look a lot better next year.

To play for a contender, then a pretender and make the all rookie team.

Even though he deserves it, Nic probably won’t be selected for the all-rookie teams. The voters mostly look at points per game, and there are too many rookies getting lots on minutes and taking lots of shots on bad teams this year. Rudy has a better chance than Nic, but even he might not make it.

The ? spot on the second team will be filled by whoever misses out of Gordon and Love. I think the only possible open spot for Nic would be Speights on the second team, since he’s stuck a little in the same situation Oden is (real productive, but limited minutes). Beasley has really turned it on since the All star break, and is a legit 2nd option on one of the hottest teams in the league.

Like you said, though, I think Augustin and Chalmers are ahead of Nic. He gets bonus points for playing on a contender, but being a 4th or 5th option every time he’s on the court will really hurt him in the voting.

or care enough to put the effort into looking past the stat sheet when voting. If they do then I think Nic has the best chance. If not then maybe Rudy because he is more recognized and has a flashier game which means the coaches will be more aware of who he is (not to mention the Olimpics and All-Star dunk contest).

Of course I hope that both make it. Oden just hasn’t had enough games to be considered plus the latest injury has taken away some of his momentum not to mention that it has robbed him of more game experience and visibility in the All-Star Rookie challenge.