Tag: Evan Mobley

14 most surprising omissions (Tyrese Maxey!) from the 2024 USA Basketball men’s player pool

Unless these players denied invitations, these are some very shocking decisions by Team USA.

USA Basketball announced a 41-athlete player pool as candidates for the Paris Olympics roster. Eventually, 12 players will make the final cut.

Among the 12 names that we initially projected to make the roster after the 2023 FIBA World Cup, 11 appeared on the first list. Those players were LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards and Mikal Bridges.

A few notable All-Stars to also earn invitations include Chris Paul, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jarrett Allen.

The other players were Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Brunson, Alex Caruso, Aaron Gordon, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Chet Holmgren, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson and Derrick White.

Two players who we did not include in our surprising omissions were Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. While both of these players may have helped the team on the court, they have faced off-court issues that made invitations unlikely — plus Morant is currently injured.

Otherwise, these were the most surprising omissions from the list:

Jarrett Allen: We see the seeds being planted, so we’re gonna have something special here

As vital as Donovan Mitchell is for the Cavaliers’ success, Jarrett Allen is almost as crucial for the team. Now in his seventh year, the Texas native is hoping to help anchor the Cavaliers frontline to make a deep playoff run. After hosting 25 …

As vital as Donovan Mitchell is for the Cavaliers’ success, Jarrett Allen is almost as crucial for the team. Now in his seventh year, the Texas native is hoping to help anchor the Cavaliers frontline to make a deep playoff run.

After hosting 25 students at a recent home game, the 2022 All-Star talked with HoopsHype about his recent injury, the foundation of his team, his Thanksgiving event, and more.

Former Trojan Evan Mobley receives NBA preseason recognition

Evan Mobley is widely viewed as one of the 25 best players under 25 years old in the NBA.

Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers was named to FanSided’s “25 under 25” list, the top 25 NBA players under 25 years old for the coming season.

Evan Mobley is just 22 years old but is already one of the NBA’s best defenders. Last season, he was awarded a spot on the NBA All-Defensive First Team. The seven-foot and 215-pound forward has great length, agility, quick hands, and the ability to anticipate plays. He’s everything you want in a modern-day two-way forward.

Last season he averaged 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 0.8 steals on 55/22/67 shooting splits.

Mobley is a good complement with the Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell duo on the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also works well with Jarrett Allen as his frontcourt mate. He is a great help defender, but he can impact the offensive end of the floor offensively without demanding the ball or having many plays drawn up for him. Much of what Mobley does will not show up in the box score.

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Ranking the NBA’s 10 best star trios (now including Dame, Giannis and Middleton)

Can anyone compete with the defending champs?

You need a lot of star power on your roster in order to win a championship in the NBA and several teams just added significant talent.

As the offseason ended, the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard while the Celtics added Jrue Holiday. Earlier this offseason, meanwhile, the Suns added Bradley Beal to a lineup that already had Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. But how do these revamped contenders stack up with the league’s top three-man lineups?

Many publications have ranked the best duos in the NBA — which you can read here, here, here or here. But we wanted to look at the best star trios in the league right now. Here is what we concluded:

Note: Net rating is how many points per 100 possession each team has outscored opponents when these three players are on the court at the same time.

Ranking the 23 best NBA players under 23 years old, with a FIBA World Cup star leading the pack

Where should Victor Wembanyama rank? Here’s the answer, along with the other best young NBA stars.

We are entering a new era of the NBA with Victor Wembanyama as one of several young stars vying to become the face of the league.

Now that the NBA’s 2023-24 season is less than a month away from tipping off, as we did last year, we have decided to re-rank the 23 best players who are under 23 years old.

But why 23? Well, it is not just because that was the number worn by Michael Jordan. Typically, NBA publications rank 25 players under 25 years old. You can read versions of that here, here, and here. I wanted to try out a similar thought experiment but with a new twist.

By the time NBA players are 25 years old, many have already graduated to their second contract and are in vastly different chapters of their careers than the league’s young players. It is harder to compare players like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who will each earn more than $30 million next season, to players on rookie scale contracts.

The following rankings, meanwhile, are based predominantly on how we see NBA projections for next season. It is not as predictive of their future success or their potential in the league.

NOTE: For this exercise, all players included must be born after Oct. 24, 2000. 

Ranking the Top 10 big men for Team USA if Joel Embiid declines invitation to Paris Olympics in 2024

Anthony Davis is the top option but there are some interesting sleepers, too.

After shockingly failing to medal during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA has lots of questions to answer before the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

One of the reasons why Team USA struggled to even earn a bronze medal was due to a lack of size in the frontcourt. They struggled on the defensive end of the floor and had a massive deficiency when it came to rebounding the ball.

This is a team that will need legitimate big men in order to compete with tough international talent in the post such as Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as well as France’s Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was asked about what changes may come before the Olympics and he mentioned that the team needed to have very specific intentions when it came to the types of big men they would target for the roster (via The Athletic):

“I think it’s a worthwhile point of discussion, but the discussion has to go to, ‘OK, then who is that?” […] “You can’t just say, we’re going to have size for size’s sake. You have to have players who are going to help you win, and you have to determine who those guys are. It’s not just the size, it’s the way the game is played. […] But I don’t think it’s as simple as saying it’s just size. I think you have to examine who you’re talking about if you go down that path.”

Of course, the first name that comes to mind is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. He could join the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped lead Team USA to win a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta after he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

The six-time All-Star is an international free agent who is eligible to play for Team Cameroon (after they clinched a spot to compete in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament) as well as Team France and Team USA.

Team USA managing director Grant Hill said Embiid “knows our desire” to have him on the team. According to Brian Windhorst, however, it’s too early to assume that the league’s reigning MVP will decide to actually suit up for the Americans at the 2024 Olympics in Paris (via ESPN):

“Team USA has done some recruiting of Joel Embiid, who holds both United States and French citizenship, but the Philadelphia 76ers star has thus far been noncommittal.”

So if Team USA is not able to successfully recruit Embiid, here are the other top options that they could consider:

Projected starting lineup for the Cavaliers with Max Strus after sign-and-trade with Heat

Max Strus has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Max Strus has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers after a sign-and-trade with the Heat, per ESPN.

Miami landed Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and two second-round picks in the three-team deal that involved the Spurs.

Strus is a 6-foot-5, 27-year-old wing who was an essential piece for the Miami Heat during their run to win the Eastern Conference in 2022-23. He started all 23 games that Miami played during the postseason.

The former undrafted free agent is a very smart pickup because Cleveland connected on the third-fewest 3-pointers per game (10.0) among all teams in the postseason, via NBA.com. Only four players in the league attempted more 3-pointers than Strus (135) during the playoffs.

Here is what the rotation will likely look like for Cleveland with Strus in the mix:

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USC in the NBA Playoffs: Evan Mobley and the Cavs face the Knicks

Evan Mobley takes center stage and tries to defeat a resurgent Knicks team which hopes to make a postseason splash.

The Cleveland Cavaliers face the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Cavs are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and the Knicks are the fifth seed. This series could be one of the best of the first round.

Former USC Trojans star Evan Mobley has made the transition to the NBA a smooth one. Moley has become a focal point of the Cavs on both ends of the floor. He finished the regular season third in PPG with 16.2 along with nine rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Against the Knicks, Mobley will have his hands full with Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson clogging the paint for New York.

In the most recent game against the Knicks, Mobley finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 41 minutes in a loss. Cleveland might need to depend on him more throughout this series.

The Cavs lost in the play-in tournament a year ago, and now they get a chance to win a first-round series, although it won’t be easy.

Mobley’s presence on offense and defense will likely set the tone for the Cavs, and it will be interesting to see how he performs against the Randle-Robinson duo.

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Jalen Green delivers in matchup with Evan Mobley, Cavaliers, but Rockets lack help

With 30 points on elite efficiency, Jalen Green did his part in a battle with fellow second-year prospect Evan Mobley in Cleveland. The #Rockets supporting cast, however, was underwhelming.

Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets lost the war in Sunday’s 108-91 road loss (box score) to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the No. 2 pick from the 2021 NBA draft may have won a battle.

In a matchup with Evan Mobley, who was selected right after Green at No. 3 in the 2021 first round, Green was outstanding with 30 points and 4 assists on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%), including 5-of-11 on 3-pointers (45.5%). Mobley held his own with 19 points (66.7% FG), 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, but Houston’s 21-year-old certainly did enough to make his higher selection defensible.

Ultimately, as has been the case for the 2022-23 season as a whole, the difference in the result was largely based on the supporting cast for each second-year prospect. Big man Jarrett Allen led the Cavaliers (48-28) with 24 points (72.7% FG) and 14 rebounds, while All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell added 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting (50%), including 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%).

Other than Green, it was a struggle for Houston (18-57), as is often been the case. Backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr. struggled in his return to Cleveland, scoring just 6 points on 3-of-12 shooting (25%). Alperen Sengun had 14 points (50% FG) and 8 rebounds.

Outside of Green’s five 3-pointers, the rest of the Rockets shot 1-of-14 (7.1%) from beyond the arc, combined.

Next up for Houston on its road trip against probable 2023 playoff teams is Monday’s game at New York. In what will be the team’s final back-to-back of the 2022-23 season, tipoff against the Knicks is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central. Until then, here’s a look at highlights, postgame interviews, and reaction by Houston fans and media members after Sunday’s loss in Cleveland.

Rockets at Cavaliers: Sunday’s lineups, injury reports, broadcast and stream info

Sunday’s Rockets-Cavaliers matchup places Jalen Green and Evan Mobley — the NBA’s No. 2 and No. 3 overall draft picks from the 2021 first round — in the spotlight. #Rockets

Led by accomplished veterans like Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen, the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers are clearly a better team than the young and rebuilding Houston Rockets.

But in a battle of talented second-year prospects — Rockets guard Jalen Green, and Cavs forward Evan Mobley — Houston’s 21-year-old would probably love to make a statement. Green and Mobley were the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks, respectively, in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft, and NBA analysts have debated whether the Rockets made the right call for nearly two years since.

For Mobley, who averages 16.3 points (55.2% FG) and 9.0 rebounds per game, it’s an opportunity to show the Rockets what they’re missing out on. To Green, averaging 21.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, it’s a chance to show the world why Houston believes in him.

The Rockets and Cavaliers only play each other twice per year, since Houston is in the Western Conference and Cleveland the Eastern Conference. Thus, Sunday’s matinee offers Green and Mobley a rare opportunity to be in the spotlight against each other.

For Houston, it starts a tough back-to-back on the road, with another game looming Monday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.