Even though there was indeed a rookie ladder released last week, it was more of an update on how the top rookies vying for the Rookie of the Year stacked up after the All-Star break. Well, just one week later, it seems as if the chase for the coveted award is down to two, possibly three rookies.
Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, and Scottie Barnes were the third, first, and fourth picks in the 2021 NBA Draft. As we inch closer to the playoffs, all three will have the spotlight on them to perform at a high level. Heck, with the way Jalen Green has been playing in Houston, it would not surprise me if he becomes a dark-horse for the award.
With all that being said, NBA.com writer Steve Aschburner and I seem to be in lock-step once again with our weekly ladder rankings.
At the top of the ladder, where he’s been for the majority of the season, is where Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley sits. In Tuesday night’s game versus the Indiana Pacers, Mobley had another solid outing, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. Now, even more pressure will be on him as he will likely take over as the starting center for the Cavaliers after Jarrett Allen’s recent injury; Cleveland’s recent 10-day signing of Moses Brown could cut into some Mobley center minutes, though, assuredly.
Trailing Mobley is the ever-exciting Cade Cunningham. In his last two games, both wins over Indiana and the Atlanta Hawks, he averaged 24 points, 7.5 assist and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has the talent to overtake Mobley if he slips up.
Coming in third this week, is the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes from there. Barnes has been fantastic all season, even drawing praise from Vince Carter, via Sportsnet and h/t Aschburner.
"“You can throw him in any position, he can guard any position, and he can play any position. … You have a star in the making already.”"
Following Barnes is the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner. Wagner, unfortunately, is just a great player that is being overlooked by bigger stars. He is the only rookie to score over 1,000 points already this season, and he’s accounted for 15% of the entire Magic offensive output.
Finally, falling to fifth this week is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey. He hasn’t played since the break, and it’s very possible that Oklahoma City shuts him down. It is a real bummer, considering he’s been the best rookie by far in the Western Conference.
For the rest of the ladder, let’s take a look at the full rankings this week:
Rookie Ladder Rankings
- Evan Mobley, Forward/Center, Cavaliers
- Cade Cunningham, Guard, Detroit Pistons
- Scottie Barnes, Forward, Raptors
- Franz Wagner, Forward, Magic
- Josh Giddey, Guard, Thunder
- Jalen Green, Guard, Houston Rockets
- Ayo Dosunmu, Guard, Chicago Bulls
- Herbert Jones, Forward, New Orleans Pelicans
- Jonathan Kuminga, Forward, Golden State Warriors
- Chris Duarte, Guard, Pacers
Mobley must seize this opportunity to pull away
For every Cavalier fan out there, I think I can say, our heart sunk to the floor when Jarrett Allen was confirmed to have a finger fracture, to go with a quad contusion. He is out indefinitely. Making matters worse, the NBA regular season has about one month of games left to play.
With the Cavs battling for a playoff berth in the crowded Eastern Conference, someone needs to step up in Allen’s absence. And that man has to be rookie forward Evan Mobley.
In Tuesday night’s game he started at center, and as I wrote earlier, he had a solid outing. However, he’s capable of more from the center position.
Personally, I love the idea of Mobley playing a little bit of point-forward for the Cavaliers. He is more than capable as a ball-handler, and as we saw on Tuesday, he’s a pretty good distributor.
But, to really keep the Cavs in the thick of the playoff race, he’ll need to play great on both ends of the floor, at the center position still for extended stretches; even with the Brown signing, Mobley will likely get his share of play there. He’s gotten more aggressive of late, also. In his last two games, both double-doubles, he attempted 15 shots. I think he should continue to shoot, and shoot more. He should also look to extend his range at times.
While doing this he also needs to be the best rebounder on the court, though, and also protect the rim, regardless of the Brown outlook, with Allen out. It’s a lot to ask of a 20-year-old, but if he wants to walk away with the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, he needs to be great down the stretch run.
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!