Evan Mobley has been one of the best rookies in the NBA this season, and he’s been a huge reason for the Cavaliers having a 9-5 record which is good for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. He is currently averaging 15.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. Mobley’s defensive ability as a young big man has been lauded by many analysts, and it’s abundantly obvious that he may become a really special player. He is currently the Rookie of the Year frontrunner.
It seems as though many NBA coaches share the public’s sentiments about Evan Mobley. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, multiple NBA coaches have “expressed jealousy” towards Cavaliers head coach J. B. Bickerstaff due to the fact that he gets to coach such a fantastic player.
Tristan Thompson. John Henson. Ante Zizic. Andre Drummond. Larry Nance Jr. None of them were it. Not long term anyway. Allen and Mobley look the part. Especially Mobley, the rookie who plays beyond his years and has aroused hope for the franchise. A source said multiple coaches have recently expressed jealousy to Bickerstaff that he gets to coach the Rookie of the Year frontrunner who is averaging 15.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals.
Fedor also reported J. B. Bickerstaff’s own words on Evan Mobley, claiming that young players are usually too “consumed with figuring out the game” and thus “struggle to impact winning”. He also claimed that Mobley showed “the impact he can have” early this regular season.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen it, to be honest with you, or been around it. That’s how rare it is,” Bickerstaff said when asked about Mobley’s impact on winning. “Normally, young guys are so consumed with figuring the game out for themselves that they struggle to impact winning.
“I’m not getting ahead of myself here, but he’s shown these first games that’s the impact he can have. Because one, his skill set, but two, his intent. He does not care about anything else. There’s no agenda, there’s no motive. His sole focus is,’ how do I help the Cleveland Cavaliers win basketball games?’ He just goes out and does that.
There’s no doubt that it’s rare to see big men who are that dominant right out of the gate. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo took a few years to develop into the player that he is today. Evan Mobley however, has hit the ground running, even if he isn’t a star just yet.
Hopefully, Evan Mobley’s stellar play can continue, and perhaps we’ll see him get even better over the course of the season as he continues to adjust to the NBA. Even LeBron James has claimed that Evan Mobley is “going to be a damn good player”, and everyone can see that Evan Mobley has a pathway to being extremely successful in the league.
