New Orleans Pelicans rookies shift on the Rookie Ladder. See how Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears performed last week.
The New Orleans Pelicans rookies have been some of the team's biggest bright spots; they've also been among the most interesting rookies in the NBA all year long.
Throughout the trials and tribulations that come from being a rookie in the NBA, their ceilings seem sky-high.
NBA.com's Steve Auschburner has a running "Rookie Ladder" that pits the league's newcomers against each other in a power ranking format. Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears have both been involved for a long time. At one point, they were both in the top four.
The latest update saw them reverse their recent trends, one in a good way and one not so much. The top four, in order, is now Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe and Cedric Coward.
Queen was previously the No. 4 player, but slipped down one spot after a down week. He played in all four games that the Pelicans had over the stretch, but it was maybe the least impressive week of his young career.
He averaged 6.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists with 1.5 steals and half a block per night. He shot just 35.7 from the field, missing the lone three-point attempt he had.
Queen's inconsistent shotmaking has been a major talking point early in his career. It's not really worrying; he's still above 50% on his two-point attempts for the season.
Stretches like this do highlight one of his most-needed areas of improvement, though, in getting to the free-throw line. His finesse-forward style of play is effective and is fun to watch, but he just doesn't draw fouls. He's a great free-throw shooter, as well, so an increase in volume would be fantastic.
Fears actually went in the opposite direction. He bumped up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8. It's impressive that he was able to move in the right direction, given that he was removed from the starting lineup for the first time during this stretch.
He averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals and half a block over these four games. It was a step down from his season averages, but he has responded well to being taken out of the starting lineup.
Per Auschburner, Fears has the worst +/- of any rookie, but is third in scoring, second in steals and sixth in assists.
New Orleans will now face the Memphis Grizzlies, Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets ahead of the next rankings update.