Evan Mobley: 2023 All Defensive 1st Team

[Cavatt]

I was saying this two weeks ago. He's been the best player in his draft this season and it's by a bigger margin, considerably, than last year.

I get the frustration, I guess, that he isn't, I dunno, Luka or Zion or LeBron level talent in year 2....but is that really fair to hold against him? He's not the superstar level player you thought he'd be but he's the best player in his draft class....

The expectations were just too high.

Isn't he the Luka or Lebron of defense tho? Personally, I wanted Scottie last year. I thought Mobley was redundant with Allen. I was totally wrong and happy to be. Watching him last night, I realize he's not a perfectly formed homunculus coming into the league, but he got the ball and exploded to the rim a couple of times. I said "whoa"

His ability to playmaking from the high post looks great and made Garland look pedestrian last night.

His shot looks great from 3, but he obviously needs reps there and needs to speed up his release.

Like, what can't he do if he keeps developing and working on his game?

Score 30 a game? Maybe not. He's well on his way to being a Garnett like impact guy. I think he has totally taken it to another level, and he has as much basketball brains as anyone

 

[Jscc]

Isn't he the Luka or Lebron of defense tho? Personally, I wanted Scottie last year. I thought Mobley was redundant with Allen. I was totally wrong and happy to be. Watching him last night, I realize he's not a perfectly formed homunculus coming into the league, but he got the ball and exploded to the rim a couple of times. I said "whoa"

I thought some of the stuff said here about Mobley was harsh until I read some Toronto fan forums. Raptor fans are brutal. They are ready to bench or trade Barnes and blow it up for another lotto pick player.

 

[foucault87]

I dont need him to be a superstar offensively today. That isn't our timeline. We've got Darius and Donovan to carry the load on offense. We may never need Mobley to develop into a 30 ppg guy at all.

I think the model for Mobely to have success is something like 2008 KG. Anchor on defense that plays next to another defensive big, provides secondary playmaking from the big man slot, does a lot of garbage work on offense (Oreb, drop offs, PnR), and occasionally takes isos against guys from the perimeter or the post. We can lean on him more for 30 points in a game if needed, but most of the time a 18-10 with DPOY impact on D is what I expect. If he continues to develop that 3pt shot and dribble drive game, thats just gravy.

 

[foucault87]

I thought some of the stuff said here about Mobley was harsh until I read some Toronto fan forums. Raptor fans are brutal. They are ready to bench or trade Barnes and blow it up for another lotto pick player.

I will give them Okoro and cedi

 

[zDawg45]

I dont need him to be a superstar offensively today. That isn't our timeline. We've got Darius and Donovan to carry the load on offense. We may never need Mobley to develop into a 30 ppg guy at all.

I think the model for Mobely to have success is something like 2008 KG. Anchor on defense that plays next to another defensive big, provides secondary playmaking from the big man slot, does a lot of garbage work on offense (Oreb, drop offs, PnR), and occasionally takes isos against guys from the perimeter or the post. We can lean on him more for 30 points in a game if needed, but most of the time a 18-10 with DPOY impact on D is what I expect. If he continues to develop that 3pt shot and dribble drive game, thats just gravy.

We dont need him to ever be a 30 ppg. Kevin G who alot of people on this board compare him to, never avg more than 24.2 (at age 27) in a season. If Evan ever hits 25 ppg game in a season, that would be a bonus.

K Garnett stats:

Kevin Garnett Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Garnett. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

 

[pinoycavsfan]

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Isn't he the Luka or Lebron of defense tho? Personally, I wanted Scottie last year. I thought Mobley was redundant with Allen. I was totally wrong and happy to be. Watching him last night, I realize he's not a perfectly formed homunculus coming into the league, but he got the ball and exploded to the rim a couple of times. I said "whoa"

His ability to playmaking from the high post looks great and made Garland look pedestrian last night.

His shot looks great from 3, but he obviously needs reps there and needs to speed up his release.

Like, what can't he do if he keeps developing and working on his game?

Score 30 a game? Maybe not. He's well on his way to being a Garnett like impact guy. I think he has totally taken it to another level, and he has as much basketball brains as anyone

He should absolutely be used as a hub on offense similar to how the Warriors use Green. He draws so much attention that if you can get the ball moving through Mobley more, it’s naturally going to open the floor more for everyone and create better looks for the team.

 

[cavsfever]

I think Strength is the biggest, followed by shooting. He needs to get a solid 35%+ from 3 going to join modern big men, and needs the strength to fight with 90% of the big men (he will never be Embiid strong, but who is in the NBA)

The handles will help too, but i think that is 3rd most importance.

I would go further and say that “handles” are a trap and he shouldn’t really be working on them. The last thing he should be doing is putting work into dribbling around more. He needs to be a better, faster decision maker and decide more quickly what he’s going to do, penetrate to the basket to score, pass, or shoot. Don’t try to be a guard and dribble around the perimeter. Improving his decision making is job one, along with whatever moves he needs to feel confident with that.

It’s crazy he’s made only 7 three pointers all season. Eventually he should be making that many in a week. A confident league-average three point shot is another top priority, it would be transformative for our offense. But we haven’t seen much game evidence he even has that in him. It’s weird because his three pointers look good when he shoots them

 

[Cavatt]

I would go further and say that “handles” are a trap and he shouldn’t really be working on them. The last thing he should be doing is putting work into dribbling around more. He needs to be a better, faster decision maker and decide more quickly what he’s going to do, penetrate to the basket to score, pass, or shoot. Don’t try to be a guard and dribble around the perimeter. Improving his decision making is job one, along with whatever moves he needs to feel confident with that.

It’s crazy he’s made only 7 three pointers all season. Eventually he should be making that many in a week. A confident league-average three point shot is another top priority, it would be transformative for our offense. But we haven’t seen much game evidence he even has that in him. It’s weird because his three pointers look good when he shoots them

Yeah I agree he shouldn't be dribbling a lot,but I have a caveat here. If he can do that stuff in transit consistently it is going to be hard for anyone to stop.

Personally, I'd prefer a lot less dribbling from most guys on the team

 

[CroopZ23]

Yeah I agree he shouldn't be dribbling a lot,but I have a caveat here. If he can do that stuff in transit consistently it is going to be hard for anyone to stop.

Personally, I'd prefer a lot less dribbling from most guys on the team

I think he can work on all of these skills. he is what? 21? I think him gaining strength is inevitable..its not really a skill. The shooting and ball handling is what he needs. His shot will improve through reps. The ball handling is the biggest question mark. His ability to take the defender off the dribble is what will separate him from being a 18 ppg scorer to a 25ppg guy. I do find it odd he cant dunk with one hand though- rare for a player his size.

 

[Dylan Windler's Mom]

We dont need him to ever be a 30 ppg. Kevin G who alot of people on this board compare him to, never avg more than 24.2 (at age 27) in a season. If Evan ever hits 25 ppg game in a season, that would be a bonus.

K Garnett stats:

Kevin Garnett Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Kevin Garnett. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

It was a different era. KG would average 30 ppg in today's NBA.

 

[CroopZ23]

It was a different era. KG would average 30 ppg in today's NBA.

Exactly. Back in those days 20 ppg made you a prolific scorer. For example, in 1997 there were only 14 players averaging 20 ppg. Now theres like 40 of those dudes.

 

[foucault87]

It was a different era. KG would average 30 ppg in today's NBA.

Im not so sure. He would have the skillset but he is also KG. This is the guy who will pass the ball to Troy Daniels down 1 with 3 seconds left in the game because Troy was open and thats the correct basketball play.

 

[letgocavs]

I'm of two minds. I saw someone criticize mobley for not shooting. While 100 percent the right ball play hitting your open all star pg, I wouldn't have complained of he tried to be a dog and shot it. You only get so many chances to win the game yourself. He wanted none of that smoke.

 

[guitarguy]

It's funny how he's probably been out 2nd best player the last week or so, and mostly crickets in here. I suppose it's more natural to spend forum time complaining about the people underperforming.