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Rose leads first top 10 of season

When it comes to first-year players, it's easy to get overexcited by a couple of promising performances.

Take the hometown announcers whose broadcasts are syndicated nationally through the NBA League Pass. Just this week, according to various local commentators, we've witnessed the second comings of Jason Kidd (in Chicago) and Karl Malone (in Sacramento).

Not so fast. It's early still. Perhaps the soundest advice comes from Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love, himself the target of a Wes Unseld comparison or three over the years.

"People are going to have to realize that for a rookie, there's always ups and downs," Love told USA Today. "Nobody's ever perfect."

Sage words from the former UCLA big man. So with Week 1 in the books and expectations appropriately tempered, we present our first Rookie Rankings of the season.

(Statistics and records are through Monday's games.)