The NBA regular season is only half over, but Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro already has declared the race for the league's Rookie of the Year award over. He has his point guard, Derrick Rose, as a clear winner over O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley or any other contender.
''There's not even a conversation as far as I'm concerned,'' Del Negro said Monday before the Bulls' 102-98 loss to the New York Knicks. ''Mayo's having a great year, and Beasley is an incredibly talented player and is playing well. But no one's played at the level Derrick's played from the start to this point. Not even close in my opinion.'' Before Monday, Rose was averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 assists and shooting 45.9 percent from the field.
Mayo was leading all rookies in scoring with an average of 19.4 points (on 44.5 percent shooting), while Beasley was averaging 13.5 points.
