Seattle's Jelani McCoy and Vernon Maxwell try to stop Ricky Davis from dunking.

So we don't talk about Adrian Griffin, Steve Francis and Lamar Odom every week, we try to do different things with Rookie Report. Two weeks ago we highlighted the second-round draft picks from this year.

Since then a few of you have written in to suggest that, even though guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Ruben Patterson were rookies last year, we should discuss the second-year players who because of the lockout during the last abbreviated season never got a chance, but are doing well now.

We like the idea, so here are six guys -- and at the bottom some others -- who weren't particularly effective as rookies in 1998-99 (really just 1999) but are stepping up this year. Instead of Rookie Report, call it the Lockout Rookie Report. We're excluding the top 20 picks in the draft, except for Nowitzki.

Anyway, here are guys we want to talk about and what they've been up to. As always, any suggestions or comments click here. All stats are through Wednesday. Enjoy.

LOCKOUT ROOKIES ON OUR MIND

Player, Stats	ESPN.com Skinny
Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Mavericks 17 points, 6.6 rebounds 1998 No. 9 pick (Germany)	Admit it, you were one of the people laughing all last season when you saw the paltry stats Dirk was putting up. You thought Don Nelson was a fool for trading with Milwaukee to get the German import. Well, Nellie has certainly made a lot of questionable moves with the Mavs, but this isn't one of them. Dirk can play. Labeled as soft and more of an outside player than banger, Nowitzki is putting up legitimate numbers. He can shoot from anywhere and has a nice touch, he passes well for a 7-0 footer, and he appears to want to play hard and get better. Last season went poorly -- 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, .405 FG -- but Nowitzki is proving himself ably now. The return of Gary Trent from injury may push him to the bench, but Nowitzki has game.
Ruben Patterson, SF, Sonics 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds 1998 No. 31 pick (Cincinnati)	Last year he was known as the Kobe Bryant stopper in practice, but the Lakers never really gave him a shot to play in games (24 games, 6 minutes, 2.7 points). The Sonics saw something and grabbed him as a free agent in August and they don't seem to miss Detlef Schrempf too much. Patterson doesn't have much range and the Sonics don't call plays for him, but he makes his dunks and shots in the paint and he brings energy to the floor on both ends of the court. He's been pretty opportunistic on offense -- he's topped 20 points in scoring three times and 10 boards twice, and is shooting .554 from the field. He's been a huge surprise and a dependable player.
Brian Skinner, PF, Clippers 6.7 points, 7.5 rebounds 1998 No. 22 pick (Baylor)	When Skinner had four double doubles in points and rebounds in the first three weeks of the season everyone was trying to figure out where the Clippers were hiding this 6-foot-9 leaper last season. L.A. only gave Skinner 12.3 minutes a game in only 21 games last season -- hardly an audition, especially on a team this bad. Skinner can jump and is an excellent shotblocker. He's averaging nearly two blocks a game this season, including five games with four blocks, and that's in limited time. He played a lot when Maurice Taylor was injured (including one 48-minute night), but now is seeing sporadic time, which is a shame. When Taylor bolts for free agency or is dealt, Skinner's more than ready to step up and be L.A.'s version of Dale Davis. Phil Jackson would love to have Skinner.
Al Harrington, SF, Pacers 9.7 points, 4 rebounds 1998 No. 25 pick (no college)	Only 19 years old, this high schooler has made Chris Mullin a permanent bench player in Indiana with his energy and overall game. He scored in double figures in each of the first seven games of the season, and he actually was taking key shots down the stretch of games. He also had a stretch this season where he didn't score 10 points in seven straight games, proving he is only 19 after all. Harrington and Jonathan Bender are the future of this old team, though possibly not until next season. Last year Harrington only got 7.6 minutes a night in 21 games, but Larry Bird could see he had ability, which Harrington more than proved this preseason, cementing his spot in the rotation. He's raw, but in a year or two might be a 15-point, 8-rebound guy.
Ricky Davis, SG, Hornets 8 points, 2.8 rebounds 1998 No. 21 pick (Iowa)	This is the other Davis in the Charlotte boxscores. While point guard Baron, the third pick in this year's draft, is holding his own, Ricky Davis is also succeeding. You might remember Ricky Davis as the guy who lit it up for 32 points in the meaningless season-finale last season, but he's been pretty good this year, shooting at .593 from the field and getting 16 minutes a game since he began the season late after being injured. Davis grew several inches since the Hornets drafted him (he's now 6-7) as a raw, aggressive prospect. He's still only 20 (amazing how many rookies these days are older than two- and three-year veterans) and the Hornets have plans for him, but he needs to develop a little more of an outside game to play the two-guard spot.
Cuttino Mobley, SG, Rockets 13.7 points, 3 rebounds 1998 No. 41 pick (Rhode Island)	Few second-round picks make the NBA, and this guy, because he and the Rams had a great NCAA tournament run, would likely have been an afterthought otherwise. But Mobley can play a little point and he was drafted into a great situation on a veteran front-court team in Houston lacking healthy guards. He may not fit in with the others profiled here since he played nearly 30 minutes a game last season, but now he's playing even more and producing more as well. Mobley's probably going to be Houston's starting two-guard for a while now, and while he needs to shoot much better (only .389 from the field, .312 on threes) he has been a dependable scorer. He averaged 9.9 points last season and has already hit for 25 points twice this year.

The Sonics took Rashard Lewis (high school) and Jelani McCoy (UCLA) back-to-back with the 32nd and 33rd picks last year, and now they're happy they slipped that far. Lewis' minutes are doubled over last season and he scores 5.2 points and makes his field goals. McCoy's numbers aren't up much from last year but he is recovering from injury and there's talk he might get a long look at center. ... Shooting guard Corey Benjamin was the 28th pick out of Oregon State for the then-defending champion Bulls (how the mighty have fallen) and now on a 2-17 team he's getting extended minutes -- even starting the last few games and averaging 14 points in the last four games. But what's with the 8-for-17 on free throws, Corey? ... Roshown McLeod's averaging 8.7 points in 20.7 minutes a game and the Hawks think he's their future starter at the three. McLeod (No. 20 pick, Duke) got only 10.2 minutes as a rookie. ... Finally, we finish with Minnesota's Radoslav Nesterovic (No. 17 pick). Did you see what Dikembe Mutombo did to him the other night? Ouch. It's been like that all year for this guy, who the jury is still out on. Nesterovic has scored well (8.2 points, 6 boards in 26.7 minutes) but defense and foul trouble are issues.