The big news today is that Blake Griffin will play in the Rookie Sophomore contest tonight alongside teammate Eric Bledsoe. This comes as somewhat of a surprise since Blake will also be participating in the Slam Dunk Contest tomorrow night and the big boys’ All Star Game on Sunday.
Here are the rosters.
The Rookie Team:
Eric Bledsoe, L.A. Clippers, G
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento, C
Derrick Favors, New Jersey, F
Landry Fields, New York, G
Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers, F
Wesley Johnson, Minnesota, G
Greg Monroe, Detroit, C
Gary Neal, San Antonio, G
John Wall, Washington, G
The Sophomore team:
DeJuan Blair, San Antonio, C
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto, G
Stephen Curry, Golden State, G
* Tyreke Evans, Sacramento, G
Taj Gibson, Chicago, F
James Harden, Oklahoma City, G
Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia, G
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City, F-C
Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee, G
Wesley Matthews, Portland, G
*Will not play, due to injury
The first thing that I notice is that the Sophomore team is very guard heavy. Only three of the 9 players selected are either a forward or center, something that could affect the dynamic of the teams.
The sophomores are a much more balanced team with point guards (Wall, Bledsoe), bigs (Blake, Monroe, Cousins and Favors) and a slew of wings (Fields, Johnson, Neal). It also never hurts to have the best player on the court (Blake) and arguably the three most talented players on the court (Blake, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins).
