Hornets rebound from difficult start with pair of fresh legs and hands

It may be too early to tell if Jeff Bower can turn around the New Orleans Hornets (let's wait for Chris Paul to get back), but Bower has already proven he's making a difference by doing one simple thing Byron Scott didn't -- playing his talented rookie tandem of Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton.

The move has helped kick start a Hornets' resurgence with Thornton averaging 11.8 points and Collison averaging 11.3 points. New Orleans recently won four of five games, including victories over Phoenix and Atlanta, before dropping two straight to the Lakers and Kings on a West coast road trip.

"We bring a lot of energy to the table being rookies," said Collison, who scored 20 points against the Lakers on Tuesday. "It was frustrating at the beginning of the season when the team was going down and we weren't playing, but we knew once we got our chance we'd show what we could do. We don't ever want to go back to the situation we were in."

For the second week in a row, Collison and Thornton both remain in the top 10 while a familiar face spearheading another rebuilding project is once again the leader of the pack.

(All stats and records are through Dec. 3.)

NBA Rookie Rankings