I have to admit, every time I get to write one of these pieces about the NBA Rookie Ladder that doesn’t have Cleveland Cavaliers big Evan Mobley at the top, such as this last one, it’s becoming very frustrating. Mobley’s body of work, and his limitless ceiling have him playing the best basketball of any rookie this season. I know Scottie Barnes has done a lot for the Toronto Raptors, who seemed to have made a nice move by picking the wing from Florida State fourth overall. Cade Cunningham is basically the only player keeping the Detroit Pistons kind of afloat right now. However, if you put all that aside, the impact that Evan Mobley has had on the Cavs this year is something that none of the other rookies have shown, yet at least.
At this point last year the whole season was a wash, and the only thing to look forward to was the 2021 NBA Draft. After Sunday night’s throttling of Toronto, albeit without a number of players, the Cavaliers are 20-13, which is good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. NFL pundits out there hate using wins to describe a quarterback. However, I think that is the opposite in this case, as every time Mobley has been on the floor this season, the Cavs are 17-8.
There are few players in the entire NBA that are having the same impact on their teams as Mobley. With all that being said, let’s get into the most recent Rookie Ladder, which was out this past Wednesday, for context.
Barnes snags the top spot
Unfortunately, Mobley did drop a spot after not playing since the last ladder was released. Unsurprisingly, Scottie Barnes stepped in to fill the top spot during Mobley’s absence. In all honesty, he’s been very good this season. He also became a victim of the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols last week, but not before he put up big numbers versus the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets. Over that two-game stretch he averaged 22 points per game, while also grabbing 10 rebounds per game.
Yes, Barnes has been great on the offensive end of late, however, he’s been fantastic defensively for the Raptors. Night in and night out he’s guarding some of the best guards and wings that the NBA has to offer. He’s not only holding his own, but he’s excelling. It is an interesting note that the two best rookies thus far in the season, have been great on the defensive end.
At the time when the Raptors took Barnes, they got a lot of scrutiny. Hell, even I thought it was a horrible pick with Jalen Suggs on the board. But at least this far into the season, it’s the Raptors who are having the last laugh.
Cade Cunningham is playing great, but does it matter?
It’s fair to say that Cade Cunningham is now playing like a number one overall pick. With a pretty terrible supporting cast around him, opposing defenses have been able to try and lock down Cunningham. However, he’s finding other ways to beat them.
The former Montverde Academy star has 29 assists and 19 rebounds over his last three games, which shows that he’s finding ways to be effective. On top of that, this year he had 375 points, 147 rebounds, and 121 assists through 24 games. Those numbers, are only matched or surpassed by LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Chris Paul, Alvan Adams, and somehow Ben Simmons, as h/t NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner, who writes the Rookie Ladders. Whether those stats were hand-picked or not, Cunningham is finally playing like an elite player in the making.
When I think about how well Cunningham is playing of late, I start to get the feeling that it really won’t matter. The Pistons have won five games this year. You read that right, five games this season. Jerami Grant has been good this season, averaging 18 points per night, but he’s only played in 24 games, one less than Cunningham’s 25. Kelly Olynyk has also been sidelined for most of the season because of injury. He’s only appeared in 10 games for the Pistons.
It’s tough to look at the current Detroit Pistons team, and see future success. Saddiq Bey is averaging 14 points per game this season, but his play has dipped of late. Grant and Cunningham could be a great 1-2 duo, but there’s uncertainty surrounding Grant’s future. It’s possible that he could be traded at or near the deadline, considering that per a report from veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein, there’s a “rising belief” he’s dealt by then.
To me, the situation in Detroit with Cunningham is a lot like an NFL team with a rookie quarterback. You throw him out there because you have nothing else, and just hope he doesn’t destroy his confidence. With that being said, the NBA and NFL are very different, but the Pistons would do well to try and find some help for Cunningham.
Josh Giddey and Franz Wagner are playing well
The fourth and fifth spots on the latest NBA Rookie Ladder from Aschburner have belonged to the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey. Both have been playing well of late, especially Giddey.
Regardless of it not factoring into the Ladder stats for this past one, in the Thunder’s win over the the LA Clippers last weekend, he became the first rookie since 1979, and sixth ever, to have 18 rebounds and ten assists in a game, as h/t Aschburner. He was one bucket short of a triple-double. The backcourt duo of Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be very good by the end of the year.
As for Franz Wagner, the Magic went 1-2 on the week, and his shooting dipped a bit. This past week he was 0-of-8 from three, and his overall shooting was only at 39 percent. Overall though, Wagner has been a huge get for the Magic, especially with Jalen Suggs being sidelined. Wagner is among the rookie leaders in scoring, assists, rebounding, steals, and minutes played, among other statistical categories.
The only disappointing thing about Wagner so far this season, as much like Cunningham he really doesn’t have a lot of help on a Magic team that has nine players aged 23 or younger.