Cavs’ Evan Mobley stays atop Ladder, but Cade Cunningham’s closing fast

Giddey’s disappointing injury and Green shows up

I must say, when I initially saw the injury to Josh Giddey’s hip, I thought it was a minor injury and he would be back in a few days. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The injury seems to be a nagging one, and if he can only come back with a couple of games left, the Thunder might choose to just shut him down.

It’s incredibly disappointing that we won’t be able to see a full rookie season of Giddey play. On top of that, we didn’t get to see the backcourt tandem of Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander much this season.

With the Thunder likely picking in the top five again, they could become an under-the-radar team coming into next season. With Giddey’s injury keeping him out, we have gotten lucky to see the rise of Jalen Green in the closing portion of the season.

I’m not going to lie, after the dunk contest, I didn’t think Jalen Green had much of a chance to have a successful rookie season. However, he has come out of the All-Star break like a man possessed. He’s averaging nearly 22 points per game since the break, while shooting almost 50% from the field.

Green is finally showing NBA fans what scouts saw of him in the G-League last season. He’s a streaky shooter, but he’s incredibly athletic, and possibly the most exciting rookie in the NBA right now. It would have been a real bummer if Green ended his rookie campaign the way it started.

Luckily for Green, Cunningham, and Wagner, they will all likely add high-lottery teammates next season, whereas Mobley and Barnes will be fighting for playoff spots. Ultimately that really will decide where the Rookie of the Year Award belongs. If Barnes and Mobley can’t step up and both teams falter down the stretch, Cunningham will be right there to step over them.

It will be an interesting watch at the end of the season, when we get to see Mobley and Barnes at their best in the most important games. It should be one hell of a ride!