Ah, yes, the basketball gods have spoken! The 2021-2022 Kia NBA Rookie Ladder has seen three different players in the top spot after three weeks. However, they finally got it right this go-round, albeit in a biased way in this sense. In the Ladder’s third week, the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ Evan Mobley has leap-frogged ahead of Scottie Barnes to secure the top spot. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Mobley has simply been too good.
Since the second Rookie Ladder’s release last week, Mobley has been averaging 21 points per game, with seven rebounds, and three assists. But, it’s not only the stats that jump out at you with Mobley, it’s the very real impact he has on the court. Whether it be defense or offense it seems like Mobley just plays further above the rim than most of the NBA. We will get more into Mobley’s play here in a minute, but damn, has he been good.
Following Mobley on the newest edition of the Rookie Ladder is the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes. Barnes and Mobley faced off six days ago, on Nov. 5 in Toronto. Both players were impressive as Mobley had a statline of 18 points and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting. As for Barnes, he finished the night with 14 points and nine rebounds. That said, like I stated before, Mobley’s ability to close out on shooters, and pretty much guard 1-5, make his presence on defense a major factor in the game.
From there, rounding out the top three was the Pacers’ Chris Duarte. The sharpshooter is averaging 16 points per game this year, but has fallen into a bit of a slump lately. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mobley in the top spot on this list. However, there are still some questions that need to be answered, so let’s just dive in.
How will the absence of Collin Sexton affect Mobley?
This is a very difficult question to answer, considering both Collin Sexton and Mobley are huge parts of the organization. However, I honestly don’t think Mobley will be affected all that much.
His ability to go one-on-one with a defender doesn’t make the drive-and-kick game his only way to score. On top of that, Mobley has already shown us that he’s a capable three-point shooter when relatively open, and he knows his way around the rim. Even though he didn’t completely outplay Barnes against the Raptors, in the other games on the Cavs’ winning streak, he’s been incredible. Since beating the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 1, the Cavs had won three straight over the Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, and the New York Knicks before losing narrowly to the Washington Wizards yesterday.
And against the Knicks on Sunday, Mobley had his best game of his young career. He posted a career-high 26 points, and tacked on nine rebounds and five assists. While Mobley won’t get as many easy lobs or shots with Sexton out for an extended period, it should only help him grow in the weaker areas of his game.
The scariest part about Mobley is that he’s even better on the defensive end of the floor. Let’s be honest, we all know Collin Sexton isn’t the best defender, but he puts in effort. By doing that, he often lets guys get past him, but he has Mobley and Jarrett Allen waiting on the opponent at the rim. So, other than missing out on a couple of blocks by way of an opponent who got by Sexton, there should be no real change in his defensive game. Unfortunately for all of us Cavs fans, the Sexton injury news was pretty shocking.
I’ve never been a huge fan of him, but the team was on their way to winning their fourth straight game when he left with his injury. So right now, yes it does suck. But in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t all that bad, considering it will only force Mobley to learn more on the fly.
Did the Orlando Magic make a mistake?
The Orlando Magic seem to have been in the rebuilding phase for the last decade. Since Dwight Howard left the team, they have never been the same. With that being said they have a great core of young players on the team.
Cole Anthony is only getting better with every game. Franz Wagner, the team’s eighth overall pick, has looked very good in the early going. Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba are also young with very high ceilings. Now, that’s not even throwing in former first overall pick Markelle Fultz. Jonathan Isaac is another guy who should be a key contributor for the Magic, but he can’t stay healthy. So while I’m saying all this, you must be thinking, “where did the Magic make a mistake?”
Well, it’s too early to call it a full blown mistake, but taking Jalen Suggs with the fifth overall pick is looking a bit bad right about now.
Suggs is averaging 12 points per game for the young Magic squad, which is pretty respectable. However, when you dig deeper, you see there may be a real problem with Suggs. Currently after 12 games, Suggs is shooting 21 percent from three, and 31 percent from the field. That is atrocious, especially for a guard. And another issue with Suggs has been his turnovers.
He’s dishing out 3.6 assists per game, but that all doesn’t mean much when he’s also turning it over 3.5 times per game. If I was a Magic fan right now I would be worried, but I wouldn’t panic. Suggs shot the ball well last year at Gonzaga, so I think his shooting will come around. But, would the Magic have been better off taking Jonathan Kuminga or Davion Mitchell? Who knows the answer to that. I’m just saying the early signs aren’t looking good from Suggs.
By all means, this is a two-horse race
Yes, Chris Duarte is having a great rookie year so far. Jalen Green and Josh Giddey look like they will be great in the league for many years. However, I hate to say this, and it is early, but this is a two-horse race. That race is between Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley.
Cade Cunningham should sneak into the conversation as well, but I fear he may miss a decent amount of games due to injury. Jalen Green can flat out score, and he’s proving that. However, the Rockets are a tanking team with aspirations of losing, so it doesn’t matter how many points Green scores, it will likely be in a loss. Barnes and Mobley have been the two rookies who have stood out the most, and that’s because they have an immense impact on both sides of the floor.
Barnes is not the defensive stopper that Mobley is, but he is very good at multiple things. He’s your typical hustle player who sets good screens, cuts with a purpose, things like that. On top of that, though, his body is already NBA ready. The impact that Barnes has on the court compared to a guy like Jalen Green is preposterous. I love Jalen Green, but we all know he’s no defensive ace, so his impact will always be less than Mobley’s and Barne’s in most cases. With all this being said, Mobley is in the top spot, and he’s there for good reasons.
His offensive arsenal is elite, especially for a big man. His ability to move so smoothly through the lane to the basket is picture-esque. On the defensive end, I’ll just leave you with one stat. Evan Mobley leads the NBA, not just rookies, in shots contested per game, with 15.5, per NBA.com’s hustle data. The things he’s doing right now are incredible, and Cavs are lucky to have him.
All indications are Cleveland got it right when selecting Mobley.