Evan Mobley: 2023 All Defensive 1st Team

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Players who are on the path to be all-NBA or all time great players almost always make major progress between their first and second years and usually reach clear all star / potential superstar status by their third year. (Giannis who came into the league extremely raw took till his fourth). If Mobley is the kind of player we hope he is he will make MAJOR gains this year and even more next year. Fuck “modest progress”. By his fifth year he should be all-NBA first or second team and a future hall of famer or else we will not become a championship contender.

But.... Futuredome is always right.

 

[Futuredome]

But.... Futuredome is always right.

Garnett didn't blossom until year 5(year 4 for Mobley's timeline) and didn't peak until a few years after that. Bigs take time.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Garnett didn't blossom until year 5(year 4 for Mobley's timeline) and didn't peak until a few years after that. Bigs take time.

When are you gonna peak ?

 

[cavsfever]

Garnett didn't blossom until year 5(year 4 for Mobley's timeline) and didn't peak until a few years after that. Bigs take time.

What are you talking about? Garnett was an all star in his second year, an all-NBA player in his fourth year, and a first team all-NBA player in his fifth year. And that was coming straight out of high school.

I look forward to your defense of this “Kevin Garnett wasn’t really good until his fifth year” take, should be entertaining.

 

[Peacedog]

Mobley will be the 4th option to start the year. Heck, 5th option if LeVert starts. I expect modest progress. But by year 5, modest progress equal big gains. It just takes time.

Futuredome with a (kind of) optimistic take here. Love it! But we need to wait 4 more seasons, brutha?

 

[mds]

I’d never agree with FD, but each player is different and just because XYZ guy did one thing doesn’t mean Mobley is a failure if he does not fit someone else’s trajectory. Reality is as a prospect he was known for defense and the offensive side was going to take time. A lot of people here think he’s going to develop KD like handles and shooting and that is highly unlikely. I’d be thrilled if he gets KG’s elbow jumper.

 

[Futuredome]

What are you talking about? Garnett was an all star in his second year, an all-NBA player in his fourth year, and a first team all-NBA player in his fifth year. And that was coming straight out of high school.

I look forward to your defense of this “Kevin Garnett wasn’t really good until his fifth year” take, should be entertaining.

All star is irrelevant. His ws/48 and Vorp were fringe all star his first 4 years. Then it accelerated in year 5 and by his late 20's he peaked. Mobley is just a boy. Maybe in 4 years he is a man, in a man's league.

 

[DeeThree]

All star is irrelevant. His ws/48 and Vorp were fringe all star his first 4 years. Then it accelerated in year 5 and by his late 20's he peaked. Mobley is just a boy. Maybe in 4 years he is a man, in a man's league.

ROFL!

 

[Adam]

Watching Evan last night it hit me again how special he is defensively. I'd forgotten how incredibly well he reads the game. Going to be so much fun watching him this year

 

[bleedwineandgold03]

Watching Evan last night it hit me again how special he is defensively. I'd forgotten how incredibly well he reads the game. Going to be so much fun watching him this year

Even his offense was awesome he was making defenders bounce of him like tennis balls he definitely got stronger

 

[All4One1ForAll]

I really hope this team doesn't try to force Mobley as an offensive creator this year. One of the best things about acquiring Mitchell to me is honestly that Evan won't be relied upon to be the 2nd leading scorer on the squad or anything. To me, Mobley's most effective as a sort of connective tissue on both ends. On defense, he shouldn't be your last line of defense. Because you don't want him being your biggest rebounder on the floor or banging with centers. But he can be the best help defender in the game at the 4. Just look at how impactful Giannis is defensively next to Lopez. I think a lot of people - mostly outside this fanbase - envision Mobley's long term future at the 5, but I think him next to Allen is actually perfect for his abilities.

And then on offense, this might make people think I'm being pessimistic, but I don't think his future is as a #1 or #2 scoring option. It's not a bad thing in my eyes, because I think very few bigs should fill that role on a championship-level offense. In the modern era, it's just not efficient ball to have non-perimeter guys creating so much, outside of very rare exceptions like Embiid, who's utterly unstoppable in the low post, and Jokic, who's a top 10 passer of all time regardless of position. Even KAT, who's probably the best big man shooter of all time and can pass, might not be an ideal offensive focal point in the playoffs. Giannis doesn't function like a big on offense since he can penetrate and create for himself and others from the perimeter like superstar wings, so I don't count him.

Mobley's young still, but in all likelihood he's not going to be an outlier shooter, passer, or ballhandler, and without the frame to get up to Embiid size of being physically overwhelming, you need to be basically all-time level for a big in 1, maybe even 2, of those facets. Those are things that typically you show very early on. It's going to be the fact that he can be "good" at all of those things while being a big that makes him valuable. I thing Mobley's road to being a top 5 most valuable player in the league ends with him being a high-level Adebayo of sorts. A #3 scoring option on offense who's your #2 playmaker out of the high post. And then maybe the best defender in the game. It would be a waste of what Mobley does excel at to try to force the high scoring output thing. It fits neither his strengths nor his personality, and would honestly hamper his development.

 

[foucault87]

I really hope this team doesn't try to force Mobley as an offensive creator this year. One of the best things about acquiring Mitchell to me is honestly that Evan won't be relied upon to be the 2nd leading scorer on the squad or anything. To me, Mobley's most effective as a sort of connective tissue on both ends. On defense, he shouldn't be your last line of defense. Because you don't want him being your biggest rebounder on the floor or banging with centers. But he can be the best help defender in the game at the 4. Just look at how impactful Giannis is defensively next to Lopez. I think a lot of people - mostly outside this fanbase - envision Mobley's long term future at the 5, but I think him next to Allen is actually perfect for his abilities.

And then on offense, this might make people think I'm being pessimistic, but I don't think his future is as a #1 or #2 scoring option. It's not a bad thing in my eyes, because I think very few bigs should fill that role on a championship-level offense. In the modern era, it's just not efficient ball to have non-perimeter guys creating so much, outside of very rare exceptions like Embiid, who's utterly unstoppable in the low post, and Jokic, who's a top 10 passer of all time regardless of position. Even KAT, who's probably the best big man shooter of all time and can pass, might not be an ideal offensive focal point in the playoffs. Giannis doesn't function like a big on offense since he can penetrate and create for himself and others from the perimeter like superstar wings, so I don't count him.

Mobley's young still, but in all likelihood he's not going to be an outlier shooter, passer, or ballhandler, and without the frame to get up to Embiid size of being physically overwhelming, you need to be basically all-time level for a big in 1, maybe even 2, of those facets. Those are things that typically you show very early on. It's going to be the fact that he can be "good" at all of those things while being a big that makes him valuable. I thing Mobley's road to being a top 5 most valuable player in the league ends with him being a high-level Adebayo of sorts. A #3 scoring option on offense who's your #2 playmaker out of the high post. And then maybe the best defender in the game. It would be a waste of what Mobley does excel at to try to force the high scoring output thing. It fits neither his strengths nor his personality, and would honestly hamper his development.

Great post. One of the best takes on Mobley I have read. I do think he has a bit more offensive upside long term. If he goes the KG or David Robinson route, he becomes a player who can single handedly make you a top 10 defense (and top 5 with another rim protector) while being a superb secondary offensive threat because they were good, but not great, at basically everything on offense. You pair that with guards like Garland and Mitchell, and a rim protecting 5 like Allen and that is the backbone of a dynasty.

 

[Futuredome]

Never underestimate The Cavs obsession with the Lillard trailblazers. If Mobley is a second option, they think Mitchland is a first option by its combo. Now if the Trailblazers had a Mobley talent could they have beaten the Warriors dynasty????

Sadly for the Cavs, hoping Garland is a top 15 player is not likely to happen. Something that will become noticeable over MItchell's 3 years here.

 

[Nphan]

Never underestimate The Cavs obsession with the Lillard trailblazers. If Mobley is a second option, they think Mitchland is a first option by its combo. Now if the Trailblazers had a Mobley talent could they have beaten the Warriors dynasty????

Sadly for the Cavs, hoping Garland is a top 15 player is not likely to happen. Something that will become noticeable over MItchell's 3 years here.

Garland is the 1st option. Mitchell is the 2nd option for now until Mobley becomes the 2nd option offensively then Mitchell becomes the 3rd option.

 

[All4One1ForAll]

Garland is the 1st option. Mitchell is the 2nd option for now until Mobley becomes the 2nd option offensively then Mitchell becomes the 3rd option.

Mitchell is 7th all time in playoff PPG at 28.3. I don’t see Mobley overtaking him as the 2nd scoring option. You’d basically be wasting Mitchell’s talents at that point, and I don’t see why he would stick around when his contact is up. Mobley being the third scoring option is perfect for both his game and personality because it allows him to focus on the other aspects of his game (like passing and defense) that he’s frankly much better at than scoring. Mitchell’s entire value derives from his on-ball scoring ability and the pressure he puts on the paint as a penetrator. We didn’t trade for him to make him a tertiary scoring option.