Evan Mobley retained the no.1 spot in the latest NBA rookie ladder. The Cleveland Cavaliers big has remained the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award despite the great leap of both Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham.
Mobley passed an immense test Friday going against Denver and defending MVP Nikola Jokic, scoring 27 points with 11 rebounds in the Cavs’ overtime victory. Nine of those points came in the OT. The rookie center registered eight of his 20 double-double in the last 15 games. JB Bickerstaff had to use Mobley as the lone center in different lineups after the injury of All-Star big Jarrett Allen.
The Cavs remain in the Top-6 of the East with a 41-31, which ranks them sixth in the conference. Cleveland has 10 games more to hold the sixth spot and advance directly to the playoffs. Mobley averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists since last week and he remains the favorite to win the award.
Cade Cunningham could also be a consideration especially after amping up his game during last week. Cunningham shot 50% for the week, getting his season rate up to 40.8%. He leads all rookies in scoring average, as well as field-goal attempts, and he has 10 double-doubles.
He averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists during last week. He is first in points, clutch points, and he has the most games with 20/5/5 stat line. The only downside for the Pistons’ guard is his turnovers averaging 3.6 per game and being Top-10 in the league in total turnovers.
The Top-3 is concluded with the presence of the Toronto Raptors rookie sensation Scottie Barnes. Barnes has taken a step forward in the last few weeks with his play. The Florida State product had his best game of his career in the Raptors loss to the Lakers Friday. Barnes put up a career-high 31 points along with 17 rebounds. He averaged 16.8 on 16.9 field goal attempts this week.
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