NBA: Casspi's passion has him scaling rookie ranks

NBA Casspis passion ha

By JEREMY LAST
Omri Casspi has moved up to seventh position in an NBA ranking of the best rookies of the season. NBA.com's rookie report may only be the opinion of writer Drew Packham, but his decision to highlight the Sacramento Kings forward underlines Casspi's outstanding start to the season. "There's nothing like the passion of a rookie. And from what I've seen, there are few rookies as passionate as Sacramento's Omri Casspi," Packham wrote on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Yavne native has averaged 9.4 ppg this season and is proving himself to be a significant bench player for Paul Westhal's Kings. "He's going to make it in this league. He's going to have a long career," Westphal was quoted as saying. Casspi's accolade was overshadowed by his teammate Tyreke Evans who took Brandon Jennings's number one spot in the rookie ratings. Evans has stepped up his game since star guard Kevin Martin was forced to take an eight-week break with a wrist injury last week, averaging 25 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists to help the Kings improve to .500 for the first time since the start of December 2006. Following Sacramento's win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday, hosts Houston on Friday. On TV: Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings (live on Sport5+Live Friday night/Saturday morning on 5 a.m.)