I have to admit, I was not looking forward to writing this article this week. After an ugly stretch last week where the Cleveland Cavaliers went 2-1, I had no reason to believe Evan Mobley would move up on the rookie ladder.
In games versus the New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Hornets, and Indiana Pacers last week, Evan Mobley scored only 4, 8, and 9 points. Up until that slump, Mobley had played 17 straight games while scoring in double figures. But what we are seeing from Mobley, and even Scottie Barnes to an extent, is nearly unprecedented for a rookie.
Last year the Cavs finished 22-50, good for 13th place in the Eastern Conference. This year, after drafting Mobley at pick three, the Cavs are already 34-21 after a great win Wednesday night versus the San Antonio Spurs. It’s not the scoring, the shot blocking, or even the overall defensive game that makes Mobley’s season thus far so special. The effect he has on winning, is something you very rarely, if ever see, these days in the NBA. I will get to more of that later, but first, let’s take a look at how the rest of the ladder shaped out.
It was great to see Mobley atop the ladder once again. On top of that, and I may draw some criticism for this, Scottie Barnes is also another rookie that I’m happy to see rising once again. The Toronto Raptors have won six straight, and Barnes has averaged almost 16 points per game, and over eight rebounds during that stretch. He deserved to be back near the top.
Number three on the ladder this week is the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, who supplanted Mobley at #1 last week. I don’t want to jump on this early, but he hasn’t played since Feb. 1, when he picked up a hip-pointer. He has looked like a superstar this season at times, but he’s also looked pretty shaky at times. He’s missed 13 games already this season due to injury. I hope this isn’t a trend that keeps happening with Cunningham, but his injury problems are beginning to concern me. Oh, and if we’re being honest, Cunningham has had the least impact on his team’s winning of the top five on the ladder.
Finally, the last two spots played out just like they did last week. Josh Giddey rolling in on the fourth rung, and Franz Wagner coming in on the fifth. Giddey has stepped up his game since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went down. Wagner, meanwhile, has also been impressive, logging 200 more minutes than any other rookie, as h/t NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner, the author of the ladder.
Overall, this has been a great rookie class thus far.
Mobley’s effect on winning is already on a prestigious level
There have been numerous rookie seasons that have been great. Michael Jordan averaged over 28 points per game during his rookie season, while shooting over 50 percent from the field! Oscar Robertson’s rookie year with the then-Cincinnati Royals, he nearly averaged a triple-double. However, very few rookies have had a big effect wins and losses, which is exactly what Mobley has done this season.
The Cavs have won 34 games this season, the most they’ve won in a season without LeBron James in over two decades. So while his point totals were nothing to write home about last week, he flourished in other ways.
Against the Pelicans, Mobley finished with only four points, but he also blocked three shots and had a steal. In the win over the Hornets, he only scored eight points on 4-of-13 shooting. However, he also dished out five assists, and had two steals. Against the Pacers he only had nine points on 3-for-9 shooting, but he also blocked three shots, and finished with a positive plus-minus ratio. The point of these examples, is to show that Mobley doesn’t have to be scoring to have a huge effect on winning and losing.
He leads all rookies in blocked shots, shots contested, and field goal percentage (50.4 percent). Now, the question I have, who was the last rookie to have this big of an effect on winning and losing?
If you’re answer was Shaquille O’Neal, you would have been wrong. The correct answer is Carmelo Anthony on the 2003-04 Denver Nuggets. Before drafting Carmelo with the third overall pick, the Nuggets finished 17-65 at the end of the 2002-03 season. Anthony averaged 21 points per game, while grabbing over six rebounds, and dishing out nearly three assists per game. The man from Syracuse also snatching over a steal per game.
The Nuggets would go on the lose in the first round of the playoffs, which hopefully isn’t the outcome of the Cavaliers season. However, Anthony was superb in his rookie season on offense, and even on times on defense. But, outside of the scoring, which is obviously important in the NBA, he didn’t have a better season than Mobley has, thus far into the season.
If you look around, Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons, and even Larry Bird led their teams to the playoffs in their rookie season. With that being said, Mobley has an opportunity to help the Cavaliers go further than just the first round in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. On another note, Mobley got back into the scoring column in a big way last night versus the Spurs. He scored 18 points, while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
Barnes, Raptors stay hot, while Cunningham’s injuries mount
Like I said earlier, I am happy to see Scottie Barnes back on the second rung this week. As an open critic of him this summer, he has proven me wrong. I didn’t think his shooting would translate to the NBA, nor would his overall play. I was very wrong. He’s making a huge difference for the Raptors, stuffing the box score every night.
Barnes is averaging 14.8 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, and over three assists per night. And Toronto has now won six straight games, and are sitting comfortably in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They remain only three games behind the Cavs in fourth place, and four games behind the conference-leading Miami Heat. During this stretch, it also needs to be noted that Barnes is shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from deep.
As we move past Barnes, thing are starting to get a little bit worrisome for the Detroit Pistons. I don’t think this is a trend that will continue throughout his career, but Cade Cunningham’s early injuries are causing me a little bit of concern. Cunningham missed all of the preseason and the first five games of the season, due to an ankle injury. Then nearly two months later, he ended up in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols. Finally on Feb. 1 he picked up a hip injury and has yet to return to the court.
There have been times when Cade Cunningham has been great this season, as we noted, though. His triple-double in the Pistons’ win over the Cavs was a sight to see. Even taking that into account, at some point the best ability is availability. Like I said I’m not too worried this is a trend that will continue, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are extra cautious with Cunningham. Why not be? He was the first overall pick, and has all the tools to become a superstar in the league.
However, the Pistons are one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, so they will likely be getting another high draft pick next season. If I were the Pistons I surely would not rush him back to the court. We’ll have to see how this plays out throughout the season.
Overall, this has been an outstanding year for this rookie class. Guys like Herbert Jones of the Pelicans and Ayo Dosunmu of the Chicago Bulls are proving their worth this season. Chris Duarte of the Pacers had a great start to the season, but fell into a slump. With Caris LeVert being traded to the Cavaliers, it might allow for Duarte to take more of a head-on approach, which in the long run should be good for the Pacers. Not to mention, Indiana also acquired second-year star Tyrese Haliburton before the trade deadline.
If you take a look around, it looks like the Eastern Conference is tipping the scales on which conference is better. With that being said, these rookies have been a joy to watch, so let’s just sit back and enjoy some good basketball.