Dereck Lively Versus Anthony Davis Highlights Tuesday’s Tops NBA Rookies to Watch

A battle of seven-footers and Brandin Podziemski’s continued fight to enter the Golden State rotation highlight tonight’s NBA rookie action.

The 2023 Draft class is continuing to assimilate itself in the NBA, taking on stars and juggernauts alike on a nightly basis.

Here are the top rookies to watch in tonight’s NBA slate:

Dereck Lively vs. Anthony Davis

To this point, Dereck Lively II has far surpassed expectations with the Mavericks, averaging 9.1 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 75% overall and starting 19 of 20 games.

After being selected No. 12 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, he wasn’t expected to be the immediate contributor he’s been.

On Tuesday night, though, he’ll take on Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers, who have rolled out a good product this season.

Davis has been garnering Defensive Player of the Year attention in the first chunk of the season, and at 7-foot himself, may be designed to limit Lively on both ends of the floor. Regardless, Lively’s matchup with Davis will be one to tune in for.

Brandin Podziemski and the Warriors

As most anticipated, Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski has been solid to start his NBA career. The jumbo guard put together a solid campaign for Santa Clara last season on all fronts, and is doing the same for the Warriors, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 45% overall.

To Warriors’ fans dismay, though, he’s averaging just 19.2 minutes per night, and has yet to consistently find himself playing valuable minutes on a night-to-night basis.

Podziemski has the fourth highest plus-minus out of the entire class with a plus-50 so far, speaking to both his impact when he’s on the court, and the Warriors when he’s not.

Tonight’s matchup versus the injury-riddled Suns could give head coach Steve Kerr and co. another chance to see Podziemski in major minutes. One’s he could earn the rest of the season.

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