When the Cleveland Cavaliers were gifted the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft last summer, I got a bad feeling in my stomach. I had recently just got back into watching a lot of NBA games, and had even recently been looking at players the Cavs could have drafted this past offseason.
Immediately I was drawn to Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green, who are score first, versatile guards. Conversely, one player I was not very high on was Evan Mobley from USC. He’s a thin 7-footer with limited range, and an offensive arsenal that isn’t that different from most traditional bigs, in the scoring sense.
With that being said, I was fully aware the type of defensive versatility Mobley would bring to the Cavaliers this season. For that reason, among others, Mobley is the clear frontrunner for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award.
He’s averaging 15 points per game, while grabbing eight rebounds, and swatting away nearly two shots a night. I could talk forever about how Mobley should improve his range, upgrade his arsenal, and get better at the free throw line, but I think it’s time to take a look at just how good Mobley has been defensively this season.
Let’s see if he has a case for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Sorry folks, another Ladder
I know people are getting a little bit tired of reading my weekly rants about the Kia NBA Rookie Ladder. So to take your minds off that ladder, let’s switch to the Defensive Player of the Year Ladder, which, yes, is a thing. Instead of weekly, these rankings come out once a month, so let’s time travel all the way back to November to take a look at the first DPOY Ladder.
Draymond Green, who shoots like he’s wearing a backpack, debuted in the number one spot, and for good reason. I don’t like Green personally, but he’s a hell of a defender, and one of the only guys who can truly guard every position on the court.
Following him is the always scary Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. Turner has led the league in blocks per game three out of the four previous years. Following the Pacer, is Gary Trent Jr. of the Toronto Raptors. With Ben Simmons still not playing a game this season, the third and final spot according to this ladder was given to Gary Trent Jr.
He started off the year somewhat under the radar, but he has become a lockdown perimeter defender. He’s third in the NBA in steals per game with 1.9.
Unlike the rookie ladder, this one only has three rungs, and they were taken by the three players in the previous paragraph. Their next category is “The Next Five,” and Cavalier fans should be loving that section. In the first DPOY ladder, Mobley was the only rookie to be mentioned.
Not only has he been a great shot blocker and post defender, but there is also a case to be made that his closeouts on perimeter shooters are some of the best in the league.
Some of the other players in the next five list include Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, and Matisse Thybulle. So for the rookie to mentioned in the same sentence as some of those great defenders is a win already.
What about the stats?
Well to be completely honest, the stats that Mobley have already put up this season are incredibly encouraging. Mobley and center Jarrett Allen are both in the top 10 in contested two-point shots per game, per NBA.com’s hustle data.
But, when you take a look further down the article you can see Mobley behind only Jakob Poeltl and Rudy Gobert with 489 total contested shots, as of mid-last week in that case. On top of that, he’s very instinctual on the defensive side of the ball, which hurts and helps Mobley at times.
He’s caught at times out of place, but his long strides, and long arms let him recover more quickly. His great closeouts on shooters have been something he has done since day one in a Cavalier uniform. He’s contesting 3.9 three-point attempts per game, and only four players have contested more per outing. However let’s take a look at his overall contested shots.
Overall, Mobley is contesting 12.6 total shots per game. That puts him behind only Poeltl and Gobert, as I mentioned earlier. When you look at a PER, or player efficiency rating, you will find Mobley is nowhere near the top. Nor is point guard Darius Garland. The highest PER on the team goes to Jarrett Allen with a rating of 23.5. That’s pretty damn efficient.
But, when looking at a defensive-minded player, you’re better off judging their talent with the defensive rating. Mobley is first among rookies in defensive rating, clocking in with a rating of 102.2, which is well above average for a rookie. Just watching the rookie play, you can see that he knows what he’s doing on the defensive side of the ball.
Mobley is by far the best defensive rookie this season, and probably the best rookie, defensively at least, in the last 3-4 years. So with all of that, I ask you this, does Evan Mobley have a shot to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award?
Theoretically yes, but probably not
I’m going to come out with a bold statement and predict that at some point during his career, Mobley will win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, just not this year.
Even though he’s been outstanding as a rookie, the league prefers to give it’s awards to guys who have been in the league a bit longer. On top of that, yes Mobley’s stats have been great, and the ceiling for him on defense is scary good, but this year he probably doesn’t deserve it.
He deserves consideration, but with what some guys like Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert do for their teams, he just isn’t on that level yet.
He will get there though. So all I have to say is be patient Cavalier fans. Be patient and just enjoy this season, since the Cavs are playing with sort-of house money throughout the rest of the season.
I would expect Jarrett Allen to get more consideration for the DPOY and All-Defense First Team, but with Evan already planting his name amongst those guys as a rookie, it wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever is some of next year’s preseason predictions feature Mobley as the Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s that good already.