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Cavs’ Evan Mobley ranks sixth on wildly inconsistent PF list

By Josh Cornelissen

Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers and Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors. Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers and Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors. Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images /
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Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

Cavs’ Evan Mobley ranks 6th on PF list: 5 players mis-ranked

There are a number of players on this list who are ranked around the right spot. That includes guys like Lauri Markkanen and Keegan Murray (24th and 25th respectively) at the bottom of the list, and putting Giannis Antetokounmpo at first overall. In between, however, there are a number of puzzling decisions.

One massive one is John Collins landing at 13th on this list. The Atlanta big man is highly efficiency, a solid stretch-big who has hit 37.6 percent of his 3-pointers over his career. He gobbles up rebounds, survives on defense and can score inside and out. He should be five spots higher on this list at least.

The player who checks in one spot above him, Julius Randle, was mis-ranked in the opposite direction. After a surprisingly strong season in 2020-21 that earned him a handsome extension, Randle was largely empty calories last year on a disappointing New York Knicks team. He should be below guys like Harrison Barnes, Jerami Grant and perhaps even Aaron Gordon.

Inside the Top 10, Draymond Green falling to eighth is a wild decision. He was the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year before missing time due to a back injury, and he was absolutely dominant defensively for the eventual champions. Putting him below Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley is too much of a projection; they have to prove they can play at his level.

Finally, we have to ask why Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero are so high on this list. Keegan Murray looks much more NBA-ready that Jabari Smith, and whatever you think of their long-term prospects Smith is a really difficult call as the 22nd-best power forward this season. Bojan Bogdanovic, Maxi Kleber, PJ Tucker and Grant Williams will all help their teams win more this season than Smith. He has significantly more upside, but he isn’t there yet.

Banchero should be a much better player from day one, and deserves to be on this list. But at 10? Banchero is going to be a better player as a teenage rookie than John Collins, or Kristaps Porzingis, or even Harrison Barnes? Last year was an anomaly; rookies generally aren’t very good, and he should get an audition in the actual NBA before he is gift-wrapped a spot in the Top 10.