The Cleveland Cavaliers have built one of the league’s most promising young cores in a very short time and they’re getting some recognition nationally now.
Recently, ESPN came out with their latest top 25 NBA players 25 and younger (subscription required) and the Cavaliers were well-represented in that. The Cavs have built an incredibly promising core that is one of the better ones in the NBA. Evan Mobley and Darius Garland are the most important two players, along with Jarrett Allen, and that group has other promising developing pieces as well.
Three Cavs were able to make an appearance in that ESPN list, with Allen slotting in at #18, Mobley at #15, and Garland checking in at #9. Again it’s nice to see the Cavs get some credit nationally, in getting 3 guys in ESPN’s top 25 and under list of players 25 and under.
This was nice to see as a Cavs fan, and the group is on the way up.
As far as the rankings go, in Allen’s case, I don’t have a problem with it and more so agree with the ranking. It seems fair and is a solid spot for Allen.
As far as Garland and Mobley I think they deserve to be higher. In Mobley’s case he made his debut at #15. Some notable names ahead of Mobley are Tyrese Haliburton (14th), Scottie Barnes (13th), and Cade Cunningham (6th). It’s not hyperbole to suggest this last one could be a historic draft class.
It’s not suprising to see the likes of Cunningham, Barnes, Mobley, and even Jalen Green to already make debuts on this list. Cade looks like he’s going to be a superstar for the Detroit Pistons for a long time soon enough, while Barnes is incredibly versatile, as he does a lot for the Toronto Raptors and has had a big impact for them.
At this point I just think Mobley is the better player and has more upside, regarding Barnes.
Why Mobley should’ve been ranked higher
It’s hard for big men to make this type of an impact early on. Mobley’s well known for what he’s been defensively, as earlier in the season, he had a good case to be on an NBA All-Defensive team. Mobley has incredible length, is an elite shot blocker, covers a ton of ground and is able to switch out on the perimeter and is often able to defend the games’ best perimeter player admirably.
What Mobley doesn’t get enough credit for is what he’s shown offensively this year, though.
He was able to average 15 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting from the field, and is just scratching the surface. He is also a solid ball handler for a young big, an excellent passer, is very agile, has great body control and has shown plenty of shot creation as a rookie. Earlier in the year he was able to show promise as a 3-point shooter as well, but that did tail off. Even still, to show all of those things this early at this stage, I have no doubt he’ll eventually improve as a 3-point shooter and fix that.
Overall, no rookie has impacted winning more this season and means more than Mobley does with the Cavaliers. You can argue Mobley should be 6 instead of Cunningham, although again Cade is a special talent and I can understand the ranking. Evan Mobley looks like a young Anthony Davis, either way.
Next up, we’ll get more into why Garland should’ve been higher.
Why Garland should’ve been ranked higher, too
For Garland he was the highest ranked of the Cavs, and I probably would’ve ranked him higher as well. The biggest knock on Garland is the lack of a track record, which is why you’ll see a LaMelo Ball ahead of him. Some other notables ahead of him are Bam Adebayo (8th) and Cade (6th) and again Melo at #5. To reiterate, Garland’s track record hurts him being ranked against the best of the best. Garland was good a year ago, but quite frankly, he has taken two leaps this year.
For the year Garland averaged 21.7 points, 8.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals, while shooting 38.3 from beyond the arc and 46.2 from the field overall. Garland carried the team for much of the season, and as the injuries mounted, he continued to elevate his play post-All-Star break, as he averaged 24.8 points and 10 assists then.
Garland was good in his second season, and going back to his draft days, everyone always knew he had a ton of upside, but I’m not sure everyone saw him becoming an All-Star this year, and one of the better players and point guards in the NBA in just one season. Everyone knew Garland was a great shooter and while he has shown a lot of potential as a passer/playmaker the year before, he leveled up quite a bit in Year 3, becoming Trae Young-like in that area of his game.
Garland made major strides as a driver and finisher from last year, as his floater game, much like Trae, has become a major weapon that’s hard to defend. Garland is a major threat to score from anywhere on the court. And one of Garland’s weaknesses that you wanted to see improve even early in his season was his ability to get to the line.
Now, injuries had some to do with it for others, but we did still see Garland have an uptick in that area, and he took a step forward as a driver in Year 3. Post All-Star break, Garland was able to get to the free throw line 6.1 times a game.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Garland’s development has been his defense, though. Yes Garland averaged 1.3 steals per game for the year and that number went up to 1.6 post-All-Star break, but Garland overall made real strides as a defender this year, and his feel off-ball greatly improved. I didn’t see that coming.
He went from somebody that was a big liability from that side of the ball to being actually decent defensively. All in all, I believe Garland will only continue to get better. He’s known for being one of the best shooters in basketball, but he’s established himself as one of the top tier/elite passers, while he made significant strides as a finisher and defender.
Garland and Mobley/Allen are the reasons why the Cavs future is so incredibly bright going forward. I believe the Cavaliers have two emerging franchise superstars in Garland and Mobley, whereas Allen is a borderline-All-Star tier-type of player, going forward. And especially in the case of Garland and Mobley, I expect them to move up even higher on the list next year.