If you haven’t noticed, people around the NBA are beginning to talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are 18-12 after 30 games, which is good for sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen both deserve All-Star nods for their play this year, and we might see them both in the actual All-Star Game in Cleveland. Ricky Rubio has been incredible off the bench, as has now-veteran Kevin Love. Yet, even with sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, it doesn’t seem like Evan Mobley has been getting enough love. Call me crazy, but the numbers and performances that Mobley has put in early this season are historic.
Two weeks ago our own Dan Gilinsky wrote about Mobley’s historic start and mentioned a tweet that really puts what Evan Mobley is doing in perspective, which you can view here from then, via Cavs Notes.
.@evanmobley has totaled...
— Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) December 1, 2021
244 PTS
136 REB
42 AST
16 STL
30 BLK
Only 3 other players have debuted in the @NBA since '73-74 and hit those marks in their first 17 career games (Bill Walton 1974-75, Mychal Thompson 1978-79 and Chris Webber 1993-94) via @EliasSports #LetEmKnow
To be in the same air as those three players is nothing to scoff at. The Cavs are for real and so is Evan Mobley, which is why he is once again on the top of the Kia NBA Rookie Ladder, for the second week in a row. Following him is Scottie Barnes, who has stayed in lockstep with Mobley at the second spot. Behind Barnes is Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham in third, the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner in fourth, and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey in fifth.
Mobley is being asked to do what other rookies are not
In the beginning of the aforementioned Rookie Ladder article, writer Steve Aschburner poses an interesting question about being a new worker in two different scenarios. You can read the example yourself, but it proves more to the point why Mobley has been the best rookie this year. Simply put, he’s being asked to do what, really, no other rookie in the league is being asked to do.
He’s supposed to be a pivotal player for a playoff-contending team. “Pivotal” might even be to weak of a word in this situation.
A lot of the Cavaliers success this season is because of their defense. They are currently ranked third in the entire NBA in defensive rating. They trail only the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns, the two best teams in the league. The foundation of that defense is the twin towers in front of the rim. The twin towers being Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Both have played exceptionally well defensively, and the Cavs are able to make runs, get into transition, and get easy buckets all because of the rim protection they have in Allen and Mobley.
What makes Mobley’s impact so impressive, is that he doesn’t even seem like he’s trying that hard, which I know he is. He just seems to be in the right spot all the time, he has flawless timing on his blocks, and outside of the paint, he’s very sound with his closeouts.
Not only is Evan Mobley the best rookie so far this season, but he’s doing it while the lights are on him. It’s as simple as this: the Cavs are 17-8 when Mobley is on the court this season, and they are 1-4 without him.
Hopefully Mobley, who had been dealing with hip soreness, gets right soon enough; fortunately, he is reportedly not dealing with it at the moment anymore leading into the weekend.
Franz Wagner is still flying under the radar
I’m sure if there are any Magic fans out there reading this, that they almost closed the article when I said Evan Mobley wasn’t getting enough love. No one in the NBA needs more love right now than rookie Franz Wagner. With Jalen Suggs sidelined, he’s been great this season averaging 14.3 points per game while adding in nearly five rebounds and three assists. On the Magic’s five-game road trip out West, Wagner averaged 18.2 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while shooting a scorching 52 percent from the field.
Wagner isn’t the most well-known name around the NBA, but you better start getting used to it. Earlier this week his teammate, and seemingly potential Cavs trade target, Terrence Ross, explained how he reminded him of Gordon Hayward with more size, via Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire.
While I do like that comparison, I think Wagner is in a different realm athletically than Hayward, but his shot also needs to be more consistent. Either way, I apologize Magic fans, I haven’t been giving Franz Wagner enough love. This week he gets all the love, as he is playing fantastic.