Scott Padgett is seeing good minutes in Utah.

Everyone loves to check up on the NBA rookies and see when they get that big break, how they turn the corner and become a star, or wonder why they're just not getting it done. ESPN.com thinks this way as well, and we'll run our Rookie Report every week and keep a close eye on the first-year players with updates on their progress or lack of it.

By the way, the five guys we spotlight each week are not neccessarily the league's top rookies, but players whose status has changed recently or are simply on our mind.

For those who have already written in to say Lamar Odom is one of the top rookies and why aren't we talking about him, we agree! We just want to talk about some other rookies once in a while. Any other suggestions or comments click here. All stats are through Wednesday.

ROOKIES ON OUR MIND

Player, Stats	ESPN.com Skinny
Steve Francis, PG, Rockets 15.8 points, 6.2 assists 4.4 rebs, 43.9 FG, 1.9 steals	Francis showed some fire in the past week, getting thrown out of the Dallas game for "fighting." We like to see fire. In the four games prior to that, Francis finally showed off his point guard skills, averaging 8 assists along with 24 points in four games. And his field goal percentage is pretty good for a rookie.
Jason Terry, PG, Hawks 11.3 points, 2.8 assists 47.7 FG, 2 steals, 2.5 turnovers	Terry's big game came on Tuesday when, again in relief, he led the Hawks to a surprise win over Charlotte with 22 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Bimbo Coles did fine the first week or so, but it's Terry's time -- now. Sure, he's still inconsistent, but he's not really overmatched, and the Hawks are going nowhere. Terry can hit the three, also.
Wally Szczerbiak, SF, Wolves 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds 54.3 FG, 84.6 FT, 1.5 steals	Clearly, this guy isn't just a three-point threat. In college, he rained jumpers from all over the court, and in a weaker conference we figured his other moves wouldn't translate to the NBA. They do. Wally (spelling his name once was enough) has had three straight big games and has become the second scoring option behind Garnett, ahead of Brandon.
Richard Hamilton, SG, Wizards 11.3 points, 2.9 rebounds 42.4 FG, .8 assists, 1.6 turnovers	Mitch Richmond is hurting, and Hamilton's time is now. The former UConn guard has started a few games now and has registered double figures in five of eight games. His shooting hasn't been great, except for at the line where he hasn't missed in 14 tries. Strange stat: In his eight games, he has an assist in only two of them. This guy should be better than that.
Dedric Willoughby, PG Bulls 7.2 points, 2 assists 27.7 FG, 1.3 steals, 1.3 turnovers	Frankly, we're not sure why the Bulls don't just play all the kids and really start over. I mean, is the presence of Will Perdue getting them wins? They've won one game. Willoughby, who most people have probably never heard of, is 6-foot-3 and from Iowa State ('97). Against Golden State on Tuesday he scored 14 points and hit four threes, easily his best game so far. Shooting is a problem; he has yet to hit more than a third of his shots in any game.

Some other rookies not discussed above
Atlantic Division: Think Pitino likes Adrian Griffin? This rookie is leading the Celtics in a bunch of categories, but the most impressive one might be minutes. Griffin's assist-to-turnover ratio in the past week has been about 1. ... Anthony Carter and Rodney Buford still aren't playing much in Miami, and their futures could be in doubt. ... Corey Maggette hasn't played as major a role in the past week for Orlando, and now ranks 11th on the team in minutes. Does he have a role? ... Todd MacCulloch leads the NBA in field goal percentage, assuming you let his 41 attempts qualify. His minutes have shrunk sharply since Theo Ratliff returned from injury. Jumaine Jones still isn't playing much.

Central Division: Baron Davis knee update? So far, so good. Still has yet to hit double figures in points in a game thus far, though he's not there to do that. ... Ron Artest and Elton Brand are doing fine in Chicago, though Brand, the team leader in total points, rebounds and blocks, is showing signs of frustration. "We're coming in and trying to steal the game," Brand said. "You look up and you're down nine, then you're down 20." ... Brevin Knight is still playing well in Cleveland, but Andre Miller still manages to play 20 minutes a night. He's averaging 8.8 points and 5 assists. Trajan Langdon scored a season-high 12 points in his last game.

Midwest Division: Rick Hughes has played in 6 of the Mavs' 9 games, scoring 18 points. Not sure if Nellie has a role for him yet. ... James Posey got 32 minutes of time against Portland last week and scored in double figures three straight games. Then he got 17 minutes and 2 points against New York Tuesday. That's a rookie for you. ... William Avery has played 1 minute this season. ... In Utah, Scott Padgett starts and gets decent minutes, mainly because he crashes the boards. He scored 8 points and had 8 rebounds against the Knicks. ... Obinna Ekezie seemed a decent choice to play a lot in Vancouver. Wrong. He's entered 6 of the team's 7 games, but played only 28 minutes.

Pacific Division: Mookie Blaylock is playing a little better in Golden State, and Vonteego Cummings is playing less. Other than a 38-minute game, Cummings is playing less than 10 minutes a night. The Warriors activated Tim Young from the injured list this week. He might help. ... This just in: Lamar Odom, he's good. By the way, yes, he is the best rookie in the league right now. Next week we'll discuss him more in depth and feature him up top! But not every week. ... Shawn Marion's still getting the minutes in Phoenix, but he's not doing as much as he was the first week. Marion's still getting 23 minutes a night and about 10 points. ... The Sonics activated Cuban Lazaro Borrell from the injured list and have played him in two games, a minute each. Hard to prove much that way.