Rose, Westbrook earn rookie honors

The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Rose ranked second among rookies in scoring for the month of December (16.3 ppg), first in assists (6.2 apg) and second in minutes (37.3 mpg). The first-year guard led the Bulls in assists in 12 of their 15 games for the month and tallied double-figure scoring efforts in all but one contest. Rose became just the fifth rookie in Bulls history (joining Kirk Hinrich, Michael Jordan, Reggie Theus and Jay Williams) to record a 20-point, 13-assist game when he accomplished the feat on Dec. 29 at New Jersey.

Westbrook ranked third among rookies in scoring for the month of December (15.5 ppg), second in assists (5.1 apg) and sixth in rebounding (5.1 rpg). The first-year guard’s 1.33 spg in December was second only to the 1.77 spg of Miami rookie Mario Chalmers. Westbrook was the lone rookie, and one of only seven players in the league, to post averages of at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists for December. Westbrook recorded two 30-point games and a five-steal game for the Thunder during the month.