Evan Mobley is the NBA's next transcendent defensive player

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Mobley might fukk around and win ROY. I gotta say, he's got all the tools to be a franchise-changing defensive piece. He's that good on that end.

Not to be that guy again, but Evan Mobley is exactly who many thought Wiseman would be. It's unfortunate he didn't somehow land in GS. He reminds me of Duncan, purely in the sense that he's ready to contribute to a winning team in his rookie season.

His style of play is nothing like Duncan's, he just reminds me of him as a rookie, in terms of what influence he has on winning.

And what I mean by that is, he plays beyond his years, where everything he does on the floor contributes to actual impact, even if he isn't putting up box score numbers. It's that poise and BBIQ that makes them look like they've been here before in a past life. That's how good he is. There aren't too many rookie big men in the last twenty years you can say that about. Usually it takes them a while to work out things, especially in this day and age.

For real though, it's about what he does defensively, that's how I see a bit of Duncan in him.

Usually rookie big men are known to make their name purely off highlight blocks, and while he does do that, it's more about the little things: making the right rotations, not biting on fakes, being in the right place at the right time, and just willing to take on a greater role on that end of the floor. Rookie big men don't do that sort of thing. They don't have have that desire, experience and foresight. They're typically about making highlight plays on that end by showing off their athleticism. Mobley isn't concerned with that. That shows someone who's wise beyond his years, who sees the bigger picture, just like Duncan did when he was a rookie.

And while he most definitely does NOT have Duncan's refinement and scoring skillset, he does make the right reads on offense too, and just knows where to be and what to do. This is evident in his passing, whether it be baiting the help defender into coming over and then passing to his assignment, or in the PnR either as the roll-man or as the ball-handler and finding the open man.

Nxggas thought I was crazy comparing him to Duncan during the preseason, but he actually has a genuine chance of being the first rookie to make an All-Defensive team since... you guessed it, Tim Duncan in '97/'98.

1st in the league in contested shots
5th in eFG% on primary defensive matchups out of all qualified big men
2nd in Keep-in-Front Drive% out of all qualified big men (only just behind Draymond)
4th in defensive rating out of all qualified big men (only behind Giannis, Jokic and Draymond)
90 percentile in protecting the rim (holding opponents to -10% under their average FG%).

A legit seven-footer with a 7'4” wingspan, who has the lateral spring of a wing, BBIQ as high as any rookie in recent memory, and the desire/motor to do everything on that end of the floor. I'm surprised that his rookie campaign isn't being discussed more because he's already one of the league's premier defenders.

Taking on any and every defensive assignment; being a one-man zone and shutting down entire spaces all by himself; protecting the rim, the three-point line and everywhere in between at a high level; being disciplined enough to chess-move with established stars without getting baited into fouls.

He really does it all on defense, and at only 20 years of age, gives the Cavs hope at ushering in an era that's worth talking about, post-LeBron.

 

[Flex Grossman]

Yes

 

[10bandz]

yeah he's that nikka for sure so far

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

He had a career-high five blocks the other night, and he kept the ball in-play to give his team possession on every single one of them. Rookies don't do that.

 

[Fortunate Lee]

This dude just quoted himself

Fukkin ridiculous

 

[Regular_P]

I was dead wrong about this kid. Thought he was gonna be a bust. Didn't impress me at all when I watched him in college.

 

[High quality poster]

This dude just quoted himself

Fukkin ridiculous

 

[GunRanger]

15-8 when in the lineup


Cavs might be sneaky contenders


All their losses are to teams above .500

 

[ABlackMan]

I was dead wrong about this kid. Thought he was gonna be a bust. Didn't impress me at all when I watched him in college.

He USC bred now you watch ya mouth

 

[Buckeye Fever]

I mentioned something in a thread recently about Mobley and the Warriors. Imagine Mobley on the Warriors

 

[Buckeye Fever]

He had a career-high five blocks the other night, and he kept the ball in-play to give his team possession on every single one of them. Rookies don't do that.

Yeah, many try to make the "insane" block and swat it in the crowd and yell like Silkk the Shocker at the beginning of 8Ball's "Pure Uncut". With Mobley, his blocks are like live ball turnovers.

 

[who_better_than_me]

Maybe so but it’s odd to say he’s what ppl thought wiseman would be when they played nothin alike in college

 

[Reggie]

Mobley is the truth and looking like the best player from this past draft. He can be whatever he wants to be on both ends of the floor. He's that skilled and talented at a young age.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Maybe so but it’s odd to say he’s what ppl thought wiseman would be when they played nothin alike in college

I guess because Wiseman only played three games in college, it led folks to overestimate what he was capable of. I heard/read many phrases of: length/defensive versatility, playing to his size, protecting the paint, stretching the floor, finesse skillset etc.

But we ain't about to make this thread a back-and-forth comparison between the two.

 

[H.J.Duck]

Cavs are a really interesting team this year, I'd say easily one of my top 5 most watched teams.

And not just because I've been one of the few Rubio/Markkanen fans here, but also because of how good Mobley, Allen & Garland have looked. Plus how they play defense as a team & use 3 big men in their starting 5.

But yeah, Mobley is really looking like an all defensive team-level player already.