The Cleveland Cavaliers have soared to a 27-18 record, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference and remarkably only 1.5 games out of the top seed. With the All-Star game approaching, the Cavs could and should be well-represented as Darius Garland, the latest Eastern Conference Player of the Week, and Jarrett Allen both should make the All-Star team.
At 27-18 and considering the Cavs schedule the rest of the way, it’s very feasible they can end up with 50+ wins.
The Cavaliers could also seemingly have multiple players landing awards. Garland and Allen should be All-Stars, but we should start talking about Garland for Most Improved Player; he was good last year, however, he hasn’t just taken the next step, he’s taken two or three steps. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff figures to be in heavy consideration for NBA Coach of the Year. And to cap it off, Evan Mobley is the clear frontrunner to be the Rookie of the Year.
And along those lines, recently, HoopsHype polled NBA executives to rank some of the top young NBA players, asking them to state their top five players under 25 to build around. Here’s what one executive, among the 17 polled, said about Mobley, via HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
"“Evan Mobley is the best two-way player from last year’s draft,” one NBA executive told HoopsHype. “He has a maturity about him.”"
This poll reiterates how the Cavs have one of the league’s best young players in Mobley, who has been invaluable at both ends of the floor, even as a rookie.
Evan Mobley is only a rookie, but he’s one of the most impactful rookies in the last 10-15 years. It’s been said before that we expected him to make a notable impact defensively as a rookie; it’s been far more than that, though, and he’s arguably been All-Defensive Team good.
From there, we knew he had upside offensively and big-time potential, but what we didn’t expect was him to be this good offensively, and for this early to look like a go-to guy for stretches. Evan Mobley, like a lot of rookie bigs is thin; even still, what’s impressive in spite of that is he’s still able to have his way with guys in the post often.
As far as the list goes, which eventually includes 14 players, Mobley came in at No. 6 with Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, and Trae Young ahead of Mobley. Mobley is only a rookie and this is his debut on the list. I would confidently say i would put Mobley at No. 2 or 3 on this list, conversely.
That aforementioned exec stated Mobley is the best two-way player in this year’s draft, which will go down as a great draft. We already know he’s historically great for a rookie defensively, but again we didn’t expect to see him this good offensively.
He already can shoot it really well in the mid-range, and even while he isn’t there yet from beyond the arc, he’s shown potential and has a workable stroke off-the-catch. He hasn’t even put on much muscle yet and is still able to have his way in the post.
Factoring in that and what he does already, I think Mobley has higher upside then a few of those guys and it won’t take him very long to get there.
The term “unicorn” tends to be overused; however, in this case, it isn’t. Mobley is what you would call a unicorn and is only scratching the surface, with his passing abilities in mind as well.