Rookie race tight: Cases can be made for Martin, Miller, Jackson.(Chicago Tribune)

CHICAGO _ The ballots for the major NBA awards go out this week, and there are deserving candidates for the top awards, like Allen Iverson and Chris Webber battling for MVP and Larry Brown and Pat Riley atop the list for coach of the year. But after recent rookie classes that produced perhaps a half-dozen potential All-Stars every year, the rookie-of-the-year winner remains a difficult call.

No. 1 pick Kenyon Martin of the Nets, who was sidelined a few weeks ago with a broken leg, the same injury that ended his college career at Cincinnati, played 68 games and averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds and was coming on strong the month before his injury.

"I think I was the favorite with the way I was playing," Martin said. "If they go on what I was doing for my team on a night-in, night-out basis, I think I'm still the favorite."

But the Nets have been worse this season than last, when Jamie Feick was playing power forward with Keith Van Horn.

Then there's Golden State's Marc Jackson, who also appears out for the season with a hamstring injury. Among rookies, he ranks first in scoring (13.2 points per game), first in rebounds (7.5), first in free-throw percentage (.802), second in field-goal percentage (.467) and second in minutes per game (29.4). He's ...