The Hornets have played five games so far this season, amounting to 265 player minutes. Darren Collison, the Hornets’ 2009 first-round draft pick, has played just three of those minutes. Marcus Thornton, the team’s 2009 second-round pick, has been inactive for every game.

Many fans are upset with head coach Byron Scott for not giving the rookies a chance. But is Byron doing anything different from his peers in the NBA? Let’s look at some comparable rookies and the playing time they’ve received so far. We’ll take the five players drafted before and the five players drafted after both Collison and Thornton.

Collison Comparison

Pick	Player	Position	Team	Minutes (Tot)	Minutes (Avg)
16	James Johnson	PF	CHI	11	11.0
17	Jrue Holiday	PG	PHI	19	09.5
18	Ty Lawson	PG	DEN	106	21.2
19	Jeff Teague	PG	ATL	45	11.3
20	Eric Maynor	PG	UTA	13	04.3
21	Darren Collison	PG	NOH	3	03.0
22	Victor Claver	SF	POR	n/a	n/a
23	Omri Casspi	SF	SAC	99	19.8
24	B.J. Mullens	C	OKC	0	00.0
25	Rodrigue Beaubois	PG	DAL	16	08.0
26	Taj Gibson	PF	CHI	76	19.0

Notes:

1. Beaubois and Gibson have both started one game this season.
2. Victor Claver is playing overseas.

Thornton Comparison

Pick	Player	Position	Team	Minutes (Tot)	Minutes (Avg)
38	Jon Brockman	PF	SAC	43	08.6
39	Jonas Jerebko	SF	DET	57	19.0
40	Derrick Brown	PF	CHA	28	09.3
41	Jodie Meeks	SG	MIL	2	02.0
42	Patrick Beverley	PG	MIA	n/a	n/a
43	Marcus Thornton	SG	NOH	0	00.0
44	Chase Budinger	SG	HOU	64	16.0
45	Nick Calathes	PG	MIN	n/a	n/a
46	Daniel Green	SF	CLE	0	00.0
47	Henk Norel	PF	DAL	n/a	n/a
48	Taylor Griffin	SF	PHO	8	08.0

Notes:

1. Jonas Jerebko has started two games this season.
2. Patrick Beverley, Nick Calathes and Henk Norel are all playing overseas.

Disclaimer

Keep in mind that each team’s situation is different. Some rookies might be seeing little PT because they have solid players ahead of them in the rotation, while others have been getting big minutes because they have little competition for the job.

Also, the minutes above are through games played November 4th. Some teams had played four games, some teams had played five.

Looking forward

This from NOLA.com today:

Rookie shooting guard Marcus Thornton was put on the inactive list Wednesday for the fifth consecutive game,  but he may activated for Friday night’s game against Toronto Raptors or for Sunday’s road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And Scott said first-round draft pick Darren Collison could get more time on the floor after playing only three minutes in the regular-season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think both of those guys are kind of biting at the bits right now to get out there and play, ” Scott said. “Hopefully next week,  they will get the opportunity.”