It’s hard to watch how injuries, inconsistent play, and at times, coaching blunders have proved to be very costly down the stretch for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing All-Star center Jarrett Allen with a fractured finger in early March, the Cavs just have not looked like the same team that we saw before the All-Star break.
Cleveland beat the Orlando Magic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday night to halt a three-game losing streak. But, the Cavs now have a tough stretch to fight for a spot in the playoffs with only seven regular season games left in the season. Darius Garalnd, the floor general on the court, has been averaging 21.5 points per game this season, and has also picked up his assist numbers this year. Evan Mobley, still the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year, had probably his worst week of his season. However, he’s stayed atop the Rookie Ladder.
So we can talk about Mobley and his unfortunate injury later. Let’s take a look at the Ladder’s top-12 this week:
- Evan Mobley, Forward, Cavs
- Cade Cunningham, Guard, Detroit Pistons
- Scottie Barnes, Forward, Toronto Raptors
- Jalen Green, Guard, Houston Rockets
- Franz Wagner, Forward, Magic
- Josh Giddey, Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Herbert Jones, Forward, New Orleans Pelicans
- Davion Mitchell, Guard, Sacramento Kings
- Ayo Dousnmu, Guard, Chicago Bulls
- Jonathan Kuminga, Forward, Golden State Warriors
- Bones Hyland, Guard, Denver Nuggets
- Chris Duarte, Guard, Indiana Pacers
After a disappointing week as a team as an individual, Evan Mobley is still the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year. The 7-footer has had a huge impact on the Cavaliers this season. It’s been said multiple times already, but the fact that the Cavs are in a position to make the playoffs outright with a strong finish (that is easier than done, though), is all you need to hear regarding Mobley and his ROY case.
Following Mobley closely, is Detroit’s Cade Cunningham. Usually the cut-off for games is Monday when talking about the ladder each week, but Aschburner had to include Cunningham’s star performance in Madison Square Garden earlier this week. Even though they will miss the playoffs, Detroit could be very good next season.
Filling out the last three rungs on the ladder are Scottie Barnes, a streaking Jalen Green, and the always steady Franz Wagner at fifth.
In my opinion Barnes should be ahead of Cunningham simply because he’s playing and contributing on a team that is in a playoff battle. I was skeptical of Barnes coming out of Florida State, but he’s been awesome this season. Green is finally showing the explosiveness that is the reason the Rockets drafted him. Over the past week he’s averaged 21.5 points per game and just over four rebounds per game.
Filling out the top five is probably the most consistent in rookie Franz Wagner. Wagner doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but he’s been great this entire season.
Josh Giddey is in, and should hold, the sixth rung. I have no doubt in my mind that Giddey would have finished much higher had he not gotten injured. Behind him is Herbert Jones, who has been another constant on this ladder this season. And finally, Davion Mitchell has moved up to the eighth spot. Mitchell is averaging 21.6 points per game while filling in at point guard for the injured De’Aaron Fox.
From there, another guard who is cooling down a bit down the stretch is Ayo Dosunmu of the Bulls. However, he’s had a great season thus far, going 16-19 as a starter and hitting over 45% of his threes in Bulls victories.
Rounding out the top 12 are Jonathan Kuminga, Bones Hyland, and Chris Duarte. All three were a bit undervalued coming out of the draft, but have produced good results in the past month or so.
With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, can Cunningham, Barnes, or any other rookie catch Evan Mobley in the Rookie of the Year race? It might be possible now.
Mobley’s injury gives Barnes and Cunningham new life; race could be wide open
On Tuesday night, after playing 13 minutes in the Cavaliers win over the Magic, Evan Mobley suffered an ankle injury. He was able to get back to the locker room under his own power, but did not re-enter the game. The good news is that X-rays came back negative, but he’s not quite out of the woods yet. He will miss Wednesday’s game versus the Dallas Mavericks, but that’s all we know for now.
So, how does this affect the Rookie of the Year Award race? While it looked like Mobley would be the runaway winner of the award last week, his injury opens the race up again, as he could miss some more time following the Dallas game, and Cleveland of late is sliding. It really is horrible timing for the Cavs and Mobley himself.
Personally, if I’m the Cavs training staff or front office, I am sitting Mobley down for the rest of the season. The team has looked absolutely exhausted in the past couple of games. On top of that, adjusting without Jarrett Allen was never going to be easy, but with Lauri Markkanen also getting banged up on Monday night, even with him eventually coming back after a knee-to-knee issue, it might be nearly impossible.
Regarding the Rookie of the Year Award, I honestly think it’s back to being wide open, considering Mobley’s injury, of which the team should be cautious about. And per a Cavs release on Wednesday afternoon, Mobley won’t play in the next three games, and we’ll see from there.
In all reality, Evan Mobley should have been given the award at the All-Star break, but that’s not how it works.
His impact on winning, his defensive prowess, and all the traits he showed on offense all appear to point to Mobley being one of the best young big men in the NBA. So I’m here to tell you Cavs fans that even if the NBA gives the award to Barnes or Cunningham, we all know Mobley was the best rookie from start to finish.
As Warriors continue to struggle, where’s Moody and Kuminga?
There are few things in life that I love to hate as much as the Warriors and Stephen Curry. Since going down with an injury to his foot on March 16, the Warriors have lost six of their past seven with their sharpshooter out. To say that the Warriors are freefalling without their superstar is an understatement. They’ve lost to the Washington Wizards and the Magic during this skid.
So without Curry, why haven’t Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody seen more time in Golden State? It’s pretty clear to me that they are two of the Warriors’ best eight players on the roster right now, so it’s a bit confusing why Steve Kerr hasn’t been using his two young studs.
Moody was one of my favorite prospects going into the 2021 NBA Draft. He played in an open system at Arkansas, was a knockdown shooter, and defensively he was far better than a lot of other prospects. Kuminga’s athleticism is scary sometimes; that’s how good he is. He needs to refine and polish his back-to-the-basket game, but these two could be a tough duo in the future. Which makes it very puzzling they haven’t been given more time with Curry out.
Steve Kerr has to know that Curry can’t play forever, neither can Draymond Green or Klay Thompson. Even though their roster has some great young prospects on it, the Warriors seem to be hesitant to give them more of a shot.
Overall, what a basketball season it has been. Before the season if you had told me the Cavaliers would be in the position they are now, I’d be shocked. With only a couple of weeks of regular season games yet to be played, it’s time for these young guys to make their mark. The leader of the pack is likely out injured for a bit to come here, so can Barnes or Cunningham, or even Green capture the throne from under Mobley’s nose?
It should be an exciting week to say the least.