When Houston Rockets rookie wing Cam Whitmore started flashing a high level of production, I armed myself with patience.
"Could just be a hot streak. Let's give it some time."
As the 19-year-old kept producing, I once again rationalized it.
"Impressive, but it's a small sample size. Let's give it some more time."
Well... time's up. No longer can we even begin to attempt to draw this out longer. The guy might just have 24 games to his name, but that flat-out doesn't matter anymore.
In 397 career minutes, the 6-foot-7 forward has scored 269 points, grabbed 90 rebounds, and canned 38 shots from downtown. That's roughly one make every ten minutes.
But the numbers aren't the most impressive aspect of the rookie. Whitmore's activity level is off the charts. Whenever he's on the floor, he simply finds a way to be involved.
Like any other teenager, he's enthusiastic. Unlike most teenagers, he's under control. Well, for the most part.
He'll occasionally go too fast for his own good, and he'll take shots that are, at best, considered optimistic. But those are surprisingly few, and far in between.
He's already embraced the value of being a passing target off offensive rebounds, moving around on the perimeter to find himself open spots for when a teammate comes down with a rebound, and is looking for an open shooter.
His 39.6% accuracy might not be sustainable for the rest of his debut season, but it's an indicator of the upside he has in that department. And he's got the volume (8.7 attempts per 36 minutes) to back it up.
Whitmore, who slipped in the draft and fell into Houston's lap at No. 20, was considered a top-five selection for the vast majority of last season, which begs the question: How did teams pass up on a player this athletic, and this active?
That's a question at least a handful of teams will ask themselves repeatedly for years to come.
In fairness, some of Whitmore's aggressive play this year could likely be inspired by the sheer amount of teams that passed him up. You won't hear the Rockets complain about that, though. Whatever fuels his fire, the organization clearly wants more of it.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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