Cavs’ Evan Mobley remains at #1 in Rookie Ladder heading into ASB

Jalen Green, James Bouknight among rookies hoping for a strong close to the season

We’ve been well past the halfway mark of the season for some time here, but I still look at the All-Star break as a strong benchmark point for rookies. Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner, Herbert Jones, and Jalen Suggs, among others, have looked strong at points this season. However, while I don’t like to do this, there are some rookies who need to perform better in the second half of the season.

Obviously, we have to start with the second overall pick Jalen Green. The young guard has only played in 41 games for the Houston Rockets, struggling with leg injuries at points during the season. Although, he’s scored over 14 points per game, which is impressive. But his efficiency has been pretty bad all season; he’s only shooting 38 percent from the field, and shooting just 30 percent from three.

As good as the Cavaliers have been with Evan Mobley on the court, the Rockets have not been very good with Green on or off of it. When he’s on the court the Rockets have shown they aren’t that much better when he’s playing. He needs to pick up his shooting, and possibly put up more effort on the defensive end.

Other guys like James Bouknight and Sharife Cooper have been buried on their teams’ respected benches. Unfortunately, some of these young teams are already contending, so finding significant time in the later stretch of the season may be tough.

It’s very important for Green, more than anyone else, that he performs better over the next near-two months, or else he will start to look like a real bust.