When the All-Star break ended, we kind of reset the rookie ladder so it now looks like the weekly ballot for the Rookie of the Year Award. In the beginning the award looked to be a five man race between Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Josh Giddey, and Franz Wagner, with the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ Evan Mobley the most frequent leader.
Since then, Josh Giddey has suffered a hip injury that looks like it will keep him out for the rest of the year. Franz Wagner has had an outstanding season, and we should talk about him more, but he just doesn’t have the star-power that Cunningham, Mobley, and Barnes do. Oh, and the Magic are the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Even though guys like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga were high draft picks, they weren’t really producing in the beginning of the season. Well now, about six months later, a lot has changed, but those slow starts still matter.
The latest edition of the Kia Rookie Ladder displays how Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes have been the favorites all year in the NBA
There have been two constants throughout the season. Both Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes have been top-3 in the rookie ladder from start to finish. Considering the talent level of this rookie class, and how tight this season has been, one of Mobley or Barnes deserves to win the award for contributing greatly on probable playoff teams.
NBA Rookie Ladder: Breaking down the Top 5
With three weeks left to play in the NBA regular season, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is in command of the Rookie of the Year race, and was again atop the Rookie Ladder; you can view that latest one here, via Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. Since Jarrett Allen went down with a fractured finger, Mobley has been filling in at the center position. After two off games following the break, Mobley is now on a five-game tear averaging 21.6 points per game on 56% shooting from the field. Even with an All-Star player out indefinitely, Mobley is still keeping the Cavs in the playoff race, and has been filling it up offensively.
Coming in right behind Mobley is Cade Cunningham. I’m honestly not a big fan of Cunningham. I think this spot should belong to Scottie Barnes, considering the Raptors are actually winning games. Cunningham will be a great player, but he’s struggled through injuries this season, and his+ team has been terrible. Hopefully, another lottery pick helps get Detroit out of the position they are in now. Again, I think Cunningham is great, but he’s playing for a team that hasn’t played a meaningful game since probably November.
As I mentioned, Barnes comes in third on the ladder this week. He has been very consistent for the Raptors and looks to be guiding them back to the playoffs. In fourth place this week is old reliable, Franz Wagner. I don’t have enough good things to say about the guy. His shooting efficiency has dropped as of late, but Wagner has had a special season. He’s going to be a big part of a good young Orlando team in the future.
Finally, closing out the ladder this week in the fifth spot is none other than the second overall pick, Jalen Green. Green has been great since the All-Star break. However, it doesn’t erase the fact that he was pretty bad the first half of the season. Green’s plus/minus this season is the worst in the NBA at minus-542. That is also good for an average plus-minus of -10.2. However, things can only go up from here. Let’s check out the full ladder rankings:
NBA Rookie Ladder (March 18th, 2022)
- Evan Mobey, F/C, Cavaliers
- Cade Cunningham, Guard, Pistons
- Scottie Barnes, Forward, Raptors
- Franz Wagner, Forward, Magic
- Jalen Green, Guard, Rockets
- Josh Giddey, Guard, Thunder
- Herbert Jones, Forward, Pelicans
- Ayo Dosunmu, Guard, Bulls
- Jonathan Kuminga, Forward, Warriors
- Chris Duarte, Guard, Pacers
- Davion Mitchell, Guard, Kings
- Bones Hyland, Guard, Nuggets
As you can see the top five played out as I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. However, at six is Josh Giddey, which is very disappointing. Giddey picked up an injury almost immediately after the All-Star Break and hasn’t seen the floor since. He was by far the best rookie in the western conference at the time, but I can’t blame the Thunder for being cautious.
Holding strong in the top ten is Herbert Jones. Jones surpassed 100 steals on the season, becoming the first Pelicans’ rookie to do so since Chris Paul. In eighth is Ayo Dosunmu who has been playing great perimeter defense, and hitting big shots for the Bulls. He will have a major impact in the playoffs.
Kuminga and Mitchell come in at ninth and eleventh, respectively. Both of these guys haven’t gotten much of a look this season, but they have flashed their potential lately. In tenth is Chris Duarte, who will be a solid guard in the NBA for years to come, if he can put to bed some injury concerns. Finally, new to the ladder is Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland. He hit four fourth-quarter threes in a big game versus the Sixers.
Hard To See Anyone But Mobley Holding the Trophy
At this point in the season, I have to admit, it’s becoming very hard for me to picture another player winning the Rookie of the Year Award other than Evan Mobley. He’s been around or at the top spot since the beginning of the season. On top of that, he was tasked with a tough challenge when Jarrett Allen went down, but he’s looked great at the center position.
In his five games starting in the middle he’s averaged over 20 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, and has also swatted away 1.4 blocks per game. He had a season high-30 points during the Cavs’ win over the Clippers earlier this week. Even when the other rookies step up their game the way they have down the stretch, Mobley is still the clear favorite.
As I said, I can’t picture anyone other than Evan Mobley holding the Rookie of the Year Trophy. He’s been incredibly consistent on a playoff-bound team as a rookie. That is unheard of. The effect that he has on the defensive end of the floor is really jaw-dropping. Yes, Mobley has been good on the offensive end this season, but it’s on the defensive end that he deserves to be mentioned when the NBA hands out their All-Defense teams.
To really put his effect on the defensive end into perspective, the Cavs are 10-9 when Mobley scores 18+ points. That’s pretty damn good, above .500. However, when Mobley blocks 3+ shots, they are 11-3, as h/t the aforementioned Aschburner. When Mobley is playing at this best on the defensive end, the Cavs are elite. That is one of many reasons I believe Evan Mobley will win the Rookie of the Year Award going away.
Are Injuries A Cause For Concern?
A couple of members of this year’s rookie class have not had the best of luck when it comes to injuries. Jalen Green missed a lot of time early on in the season because of a hamstring injury. He missed 14 of the Rockets games to deal with the injury.
He’s also not the only one, as Cade Cunningham and Chris Duarte have also been injury-plagued this season. With that being said, I think the Pacers and Pistons are taking very cautious approaches to these injuries, which is absolutely the right thing to do. However, one has to ask, especially in the wake of the Zion Williamson saga, are some of these injuries a cause for concern?
Throughout the course of an NBA career players deal with a multitude of injuries. Anything from ankle soreness to minor back injuries, and injuries of that manner, I usually am pretty optimistic. For example, Darius Garland missed a handful of games with a sore back after the All-Star break. The Cavs decided to rest him and get him healthy for this stretch, and right now it’s paid off.
However, there are certain injuries that always worry me in young players. Whenever a player has a consistent hamstring injury, I get nervous. When you injure your hamstring, you never really know when you are good to go 100% again. On top of that, hamstring strains and pulls happen every day. When a young player like Jalen Green gets a hamstring injury early on, I take note. It has looked like Green has come back stronger from the injury, but time will tell.
As for Cade Cunningham, his hip has bothered him the most this season, but I’m not really concerned about that. It seems like the NBA has gotten smarter about injuries, and instead of rushing a rookie back to health, most teams decide to play it safe and be cautious. Overall, I don’t see any glaring injury problems right now, and hopefully, that remains the case.
Just because I think Evan Mobley has already locked up the Rookie of the Year Award doesn’t mean he actually does have it locked up. He will get stiff competition from Cunningham and Barnes. Barnes and Mobley will be needed heavily down the stretch as their teams try and qualify for the playoffs. I’m sure the Pistons would like to see Cunningham’s season end on a good note, so we should get a lot of great games down the stretch. While I do think Evan Mobley is a lock for Rookie of the Year, stranger things have happened.