Evan Mobley: 2023 All Defensive 1st Team

[brownsbuck6]

At the time of the draft I was truly bewildered why the Rockets and Pistons were both passing on this kid.. and very thankful.

Take that feeling times 100 now.. it’s honestly astonishing to me that professional basketball executives could ever think passing on this kid was a good idea. How in the world does that happen? It might be the worst decision since passing on Jordan. Mobley always seemed to me to be the very obvious number 1 pick.

This kid is generational… as in once in a decade talent. He’s SO good that the Cavs very well might make real noise in the playoffs THIS YEAR. We are very lucky as Cavs fans.. to go from LeBron to him is just really crazy to me.

 

[CavsFan07]

And there's still betting sites that have Cade Cunningham over him for ROY hahahahahahahah

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

At the time of the draft I was truly bewildered why the Rockets and Pistons were both passing on this kid.. and very thankful.

Take that feeling times 100 now.. it’s honestly astonishing to me that professional basketball executives could ever think passing on this kid was a good idea. How in the world does that happen? It might be the worst decision since passing on Jordan. Mobley always seemed to me to be the very obvious number 1 pick.

This kid is generational… as in once in a decade talent. He’s SO good that the Cavs very well might make real noise in the playoffs THIS YEAR. We are very lucky as Cavs fans.. to go from LeBron to him is just really crazy to me.

It hit me in the game thread when someone said "hopefully Love and Mobley can spread the floor against Gobert".

We are talking about this supposedly raw big man prospect, at 20 years old, spreading the fucking floor in the most shooting-skilled NBA we've ever seen!

Before he even stepped on the court, GMs surveyed said that he'd be the best player from this draft in 5 years. Well, he's way ahead of schedule.

 

[Surge]

I don't remember exactly, but I thought at the time Cade was pretty consensus #1 overall among the major sports outlets. Then Green and Mobley were a coinflip at 2/3.

Bright future for the team!

 

[2 For The Brew]

If he keeps playing at this level with no improvement this season he’s more likely than not to make first team NBA defense.

He could make all-NBA (fifteen players, anybody think he won’t be in that conversation)?

His impact on team defense is almost Bill Russell level. Kevin Freaking Love had two steals last night and is moving his feet. Playing with a defensive stud like Evan is inspiring. No doubt Coach has made it clear that anyone not busting their ass on defense won‘t get minutes, and they’re all busting their asses. Team defense like that is a nightmare for opposing teams, and we’re not a fun matchup for anybody. Show up with less than your A game and you’ll get crushed.

We are so lucky to have him.

 

[stick]

Mobley takes 31.4 percent of his threes from the corners (around 0.62 attempts per game).

He's shooting 45.5% from there.

Unless I'm mistaken or overlooking someone, that's second on the team (Cedi first at 50 percent with 14 percent of his three point attempts coming from there).

 

[red.]

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

Mobley takes 31.4 percent of his threes from the corners (around 0.62 attempts per game).

He's shooting 45.5% from there. Unless I'm mistaken or overlooking someone, that's second on the team (Cedi first at 50 percent with 14 percent of his attempts coming from there).

I have never seen research on this, but I would suspect that one of the reasons many players improve from behind the arc is that they start by shooting from everywhere around it but after a couple of seasons most of their attempts cluster around the 3-4 spots they like best.

 

[Alec]

If he keeps playing at this level with no improvement this season he’s more likely than not to make first team NBA defense.

He could make all-NBA (fifteen players, anybody think he won’t be in that conversation)?

His impact on team defense is almost Bill Russell level. Kevin Freaking Love had two steals last night and is moving his feet. Playing with a defensive stud like Evan is inspiring. No doubt Coach has made it clear that anyone not busting their ass on defense won‘t get minutes, and they’re all busting their asses. Team defense like that is a nightmare for opposing teams, and we’re not a fun matchup for anybody. Show up with less than your A game and you’ll get crushed.

We are so lucky to have him.

The Bill Russell comparison is not hyperbole. Mobility can guard pretty much anyone 1-4. Perimeter and in. Bodying big 5’s is hard but that’s hard for anyone, let alone the skinny rookie. The technical and positional perfection is kind of hard to believe. Always in the right place. No false steps. Contests everything. Great hands, blocking shots with both.

We’re starting to build something of an all
time great tradition in Cleveland. Homegrown too. Not like those shitty coastal teams who steal players.

 

[stick]

I have never seen research on this, but I would suspect that one of the reasons many players improve from behind the arc is that they start by shooting from everywhere around it but after a couple of seasons most of their attempts cluster around the 3-4 spots they like best.

For sure! Haven't seen the research either, but that is a sound assessment.

From a team perspective, the corner three is akin to the 'garbage man' three point shot (in my opinion). Not to undersell it, it's an important cog for a team and historically the most efficient three. The premier shooters typically do most of their damage/volume from the top of the key/wings.

There's still some absurdly good shooters that are still able to generate a big portion of their threes from the corners (Kyle Korver (28 percent of 3PA), Klay (24.6 percent of 3PA)) and teams run actions for them there.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Monbleys advanced jump shot after 18 NBA games is absolutely incredible. I didn’t even know if he would be ready to actually shoot threes in real games in year 1. I liked his chances long term because he had decent fork and touch and shot 30% from a shorter college line and 70% from the line.

But we are 18 games in and he is shooting nearly 35% from 3 on 2 attempts a game. He is shooting 78% from the FT line.

He’s basically averaging 15/8/3. Only 2 turnovers.

Defensively he’s averaging 2 blocks and 1 steal per game.

His on/off numbers are insane for anyone let alone a rookie.

He is never a ball stopper, he always operates well within any offensive or defensive scheme. He can literally guard 1-5. He can shut any player in the leagues water off individually.

We are 12-6 with him on the court. I guarantee we win at least 1, probably 2 of the 4 games we lost while he was out.

And just back to his shooting to end this post….in the third quarter he came out looking for his shot…he came out and swished a corner 3, where he has an unblockable high release. Then a beautiful turnaround after a little shake and bake like Kobe and KG used to do on their turn around jumpers…then he cans another 3 from the top of the key with no hesitation. His shooting form was machine-like. He raised up and squared his body with his right elbow tucked in neatly and a slight flick of the wrist on the release. Swish. Swish. Swish. The body control and muscle memory that went into those three consecutive shots was amazing. He is clearly, clearly working hard on his jumper and the results are already showing. The pace at which Mobley improves is breathtaking. He absorbs and processes information so quickly…he picks up new things so quickly…but it’s clear to me that Evan Mobley is going to improve leaps and bounds every single year. Even within each year. That is part of why he is truly a generational talent. I believe he is going to be a very high level shooter long term. Like I see him already on a trajectory to become a high volume knockdown 3 point shooter-at least relatively compared to similar players at his position.

I see the game to game improvement in all kinds of facets. I saw him last night competing HARD and securing defensive rebounds with a vigor I haven’t always seen from him. He was ripping tough rebounds down in traffic and making sure to grab the ball with both hands. I think defensive rebounding is something the Cavs have prioritized with him a little more in practice recently.

Mobley basically has no weaknesses. And anything that is even ever considered a weakness is something he prioritizes and changes quickly.

Special. Special. Special.

 

[Alec]

I always thought it was a cool idea to give every team one maximum player slot. where they could offer any amount of money to a team-drafted player and only X amount of dollars would count against the cap.

Because I would call his agent and make him a lifelong cavalier today if I could.

 

[KevinLoveFan]

And there's still betting sites that have Cade Cunningham over him for ROY hahahahahahahah

LOL. I watched the Heat broadcast last night, and Eric Reid said it comes down to Mobley and Barnes right now, and he picked Mobley.

 

[Cavatt]

At the time of the draft I was truly bewildered why the Rockets and Pistons were both passing on this kid.. and very thankful.

Take that feeling times 100 now.. it’s honestly astonishing to me that professional basketball executives could ever think passing on this kid was a good idea. How in the world does that happen? It might be the worst decision since passing on Jordan. Mobley always seemed to me to be the very obvious number 1 pick.

This kid is generational… as in once in a decade talent. He’s SO good that the Cavs very well might make real noise in the playoffs THIS YEAR. We are very lucky as Cavs fans.. to go from LeBron to him is just really crazy to me.

People are still being lulled by his calm demeanor. I don't know why it is so tampering, but it just lulls people into not realizing how good he is.

AC called him the Quiet assassin last night and it is true. He is methodically destroying the other team with defense, and then picking them apart on offense. You could call him the surgeon.

They asked him about not fouling last night, and I will paraphrase here.

"Defending without fouling is more important than you think. When you foul, you raise their fg% by bailing them out. We want to reduce their fg% by contesting without fouling, and lowering that fg% is how you win the game. People don't realize not fouling is a very important part of that."

He has a genius level basketball IQ and he is applying the concepts he learned from his dad his whole life to win games.

We prob need to put his dad on the staff as a development coach. Maybe we should draft his bro too as a backup C

 

[Zeus69]

Any more "What should we trade for Mobley" threads on the Rockets fan forums...?