Before the season started, the Portland Trail Blazers lost Greg Oden for the season due to microfracture surgery on his knee. At the same time, the NBA lost its most well-known rookie in years.  Have you ever wondered how Oden really hurt his knee?  Maybe this picture gives us a hint.

On top of the Oden disappointment, Kevin Durant hasn’t been as dominant for the Seattle Supersonics as most league observers predicted. Durant has been pretty good, don’t get me wrong, but he still has a whole lot of work to do. When playing against NBA players, he doesn’t appear to be the basketball natural like he did at the college level.

However, through it all there have been a few rookies this season who don’t get much publicity but who are actually quality players. None of these guys are household names, but they all share one thing in common – they can play.

Ian Mahinmi, San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs drafted Ian Mahinmi back in 2005 but this is Mahinmi’s first year as a member of the team. Although he has only played six games for the Spurs so far this season, he has been fantastic in the NBA Development League. Recently, Mahinmi had a game of 30 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocked shots and four steals in 36 minutes of play. I don’t care if you put up those numbers at your local YMCA, those stats tell me you can play.

Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers
Nobody cares about the Clippers but if you happen to watch a game, Al Thornton stands out as the rare Clipper who can actually play. In February, Thornton has really started to bloom. For the month he is averaging more than 16 points and almost six rebounds per game. It looks like the Clippers found a quality player in the draft.

Carl Landry, Houston Rockets
Without Yao Ming out for the season, Carl Landry is going to get plenty of playing time over the course of the rest of the season. To date, the Rockets have to be extremely pleased with how he has played. He’s averaging more than seven points and more than five rebounds in only a little more than 15 minutes per game.

Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia 76ers
While the Sixers are again circling the drain, Thaddeus Young has emerged as a quality prospect. As a starter, Young is averaging approximately ten points and six rebounds, while shooting better than 55% from the floor. As a 19-year-old small forward, those are outstanding numbers.