Everything Scottie Barnes

[KeonClark]

Cavs seem to hide Mobley on defense and give the all star big to Allen, meanwhile Raps give Barnes the toughest guy...

With all due respect to how great Mobley has been in his role for the Cavaliers, he hasn't had to play outside of his position much. Defense is supposed to be Mobley's greatest advantage over anyone in the Rookie of the Year race, but his assignments haven't been anywhere near as tough as Barnes'.

If you look at the NBA stats matchup data, Barnes' most frequent matchups (by partial possessions per game) looks like an All-Star team compared to Mobley's.

Barnes' matchups	Partial Poss.	Mobley's matchups	Partial Poss.
Mikal Bridges	34.5	Keldon Johnson	33.8
Bam Adebayo	29.2	Ivica Zubac	29.9
Khris Middleton	28.2	Myles Turner	29.8
Marcus Morris Sr.	28.1	Bam Adebayo	27.9
James Harden	28.0	Miles Bridges	27.9
Kevin Durant	27.6	Kessler Edwards	27.8
Russell Westbrook	25.9	Nerlens Noel	25.9
Evan Mobley	25.5	Jaren Jackson Jr.	25.0
Mo Bamba	24.2	Wes Iwundu	23.0
Jayson Tatum	20.7	Maxi Kleber	22.2
Anthony Edwards	20.2	Wendell Carter Jr.	22.1
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	19.9	Kristaps Porzingis	22.0
Lonzo Ball	19.9	Jae'Sean Tate	21.4
Draymond Green	19.2	Scottie Barnes	20.9
Jusuf Nurkic	18.8	Christian Wood	20.9

In fact, according to the Basketball Index, Barnes grades out as the most versatile defender in the entire NBA (min. 1,000 minutes played).

Barnes' breakdown of defensive assignments by position is eye-opening.

Barnes	Position	Mobley
17.7	PG	8.7
17.4	SG	8.9
22.2	SF	16.7
20.4	PF	31.5
22.3	C	34.2

This isn't to say that defensive versatility is the end-all, be-all to decide who has been the better defender. Mobley plays a very different defensive role than Barnes and has proven to be a switchy defender in his own right. That flexibility has allowed him to fit seamlessly next to a traditional center like Jarrett Allen, and Cleveland's defense is significantly better because of it.

Mobley has been one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, holding opponents to just 50.2 percent shooting at the rim, which is a lower mark than a known defensive anchor like Joel Embiid (58.3 percent) and right on par with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (51.7 percent).

Even so, the versatility numbers do show that Barnes has faced tougher challenges on that end of the floor. Barnes has been a better offensive player than Mobley and there isn't as big of a defensive gap between them as being made out to be.

[A.I]

Cavs seem to hide Mobley on defense and give the all star big to Allen, meanwhile Raps give Barnes the toughest guy...

Mobley will be an All NBA level defender, but you can't deny that he definitely has it easy playing with Allen.

Barnes' defense is kind of underrated. His on ball defense needs some work, but his team/help defense is phenomenal.

[inthepaint]

Cavs seem to hide Mobley on defense and give the all star big to Allen, meanwhile Raps give Barnes the toughest guy...

Barnes is a rare player that can legit play 1 through 5 on on both offence and defence.

[chris]

Cavs seem to hide Mobley on defense and give the all star big to Allen, meanwhile Raps give Barnes the toughest guy...

also lost in the fellating of mobley's defensive prowess is the fact that their defence has been bad without allen. their drtg for the season is 108.5 and in 8 games without mobley the opponent's average ortg is 118.4.

let's hang 130 on them tonight and have scottie go for 30 again.

[golden]

also lost in the fellating of mobley's defensive prowess is the fact that their defence has been bad without allen. their drtg for the season is 108.5 and in 8 games without mobley the opponent's average ortg is 118.4.

let's hang 130 on them tonight and have scottie go for 30 again.

And this is the big problem I have with media narratives. Mobley's ROY case was built early on, based on the so-called fact that he's "the best defensive prospect since Tim Duncan."

But you take away Jarrett Allen and Mobley's defensive impact has been somewhat exposed. It's not Duncan'eque... that's for sure. But the media narrative isn't changing - it's entrenched.

[KeonClark]

And this is the big problem I have with media narratives. Mobley's ROY case was built early on, based on the so-called fact that he's "the best defensive prospect since Tim Duncan."

But you take away Jarrett Allen and Mobley's defensive impact has been somewhat exposed. It's not Duncan'eque... that's for sure. But the media narrative isn't changing - it's entrenched.

Passing Cleveland alone may not be enough. No matter how good the Raps do, Cleveland outperformed their own expectations more than Toronto did.

[LJ2]

And this is the big problem I have with media narratives. Mobley's ROY case was built early on, based on the so-called fact that he's "the best defensive prospect since Tim Duncan."

But you take away Jarrett Allen and Mobley's defensive impact has been somewhat exposed. It's not Duncan'eque... that's for sure. But the media narrative isn't changing - it's entrenched.

They haven't just taken away Jarrett Allen though, Rondo and Sexton have been out as well and you know how the bigs get exposed when point of attack is porous. I don't know how good Duncan was in his rookie season, but I doubt he was as good as what he became. Duncan also had the Admiral and a Pop coached defense in front of him. Let's cut Mobley a bit of slack here, nobody should me making him sound like anything but a complete stud the way he's played this season.

Having said that, Barnes is way more versatile being able to defend all positions and with his ability to create for his teammates. Mobley is more polished and there in lies the higher ceiling for Barnes who has yet to start that process. Mobley wins ROY because it's a popularity contest like you say.

[golden]

Passing Cleveland alone may not be enough. No matter how good the Raps do, Cleveland outperformed their own expectations more than Toronto did.

And again, that's narrative & opinion-based. Raps were also in the lottery last year and a lot of people picked them to be there again this year. Darius Garland is the offensive engine and Jarrett Allen is the defensive engine. Both of those guys, especially Garland, made a huge leap this year... but the winning impact seems to be getting disproportionately given to Mobley.

[KeonClark]

They haven't just taken away Jarrett Allen though, Rondo and Sexton have been out as well and you know how the bigs get exposed when point of attack is porous. I don't know how good Duncan was in his rookie season, but I doubt he was as good as what he became. Duncan also had the Admiral and a Pop coached defense in front of him. Let's cut Mobley a bit of slack here, nobody should me making him sound like anything but a complete stud the way he's played this season.

Having said that, Barnes is way more versatile being able to defend all positions and with his ability to create for his teammates. Mobley is more polished and there in lies the higher ceiling for Barnes who has yet to start that process. Mobley wins ROY because it's a popularity contest like you say.

Tim duncan was 1st team all nba as a rookie. He was a top 5 player in the world as soon as he left wake forest.

There is no comparison. if Mobley is duncan then Barnes is lebron. That's how big the gap is.

[KeonClark]

And again, that's narrative & opinion-based. Raps were also in the lottery last year and a lot of people picked them to be there again this year. Darius Garland is the offensive engine and Jarrett Allen is the defensive engine. Both of those guys, especially Garland, made a huge leap this year... but the winning impact seems to be getting disproportionately given to Mobley.

Oh of course I agree. Mobley gets a ton of credit for the resurgence, while Raps were supposed to suck after losing lowry and sucking last year. Barnes gets little credit because apparently now he's surrounded by "championship pedigree"

[The Great One]

And this is the big problem I have with media narratives. Mobley's ROY case was built early on, based on the so-called fact that he's "the best defensive prospect since Tim Duncan."

But you take away Jarrett Allen and Mobley's defensive impact has been somewhat exposed. It's not Duncan'eque... that's for sure. But the media narrative isn't changing - it's entrenched.

Sports is about narratives. Some use it to fit their agenda. Like DeRozan/Lowry for example. You see it all the time from dumb fans here how DeRozan's a playoff choker. DeRozan was their #1 option during that era and he led them along with Lowry to ECF in 2016. He AND Lowry had bad playoff games/moments during their time here but they always bounced back with a monster game the next game. That's what I remember the most. So if DeRozan's playoff choker then is Lowry also a playoff choker? or do we forget about the bad Lowry playoff games because he won a championship?

Mobley/Cade/Barnes another one. To me this is a 2 man race. Mobley and Barnes and there's a big gap. Cade has no business being in this convo but he's 2nd on NBA rookie ladder and he's also #2 on ESPN rankings. The NBA is clearly pushing Cade as a star.

In hockey, come on. People need to stop comparing Matthews to McDavid. There's no rivalry. This ain't Gretzky and Lemieux. I get what they're doing though. They're trying to hype up Matthews. Matthews is a good player but nowhere near McDavid's level. That's just the truth.

[KeonClark]

Sports is about narratives. Some use it to fit their agenda. Like DeRozan/Lowry for example. You see it all the time from dumb fans here how DeRozan's a playoff choker. DeRozan was their #1 option during that era and he led them along with Lowry to ECF in 2016. He AND Lowry had bad playoff games/moments during their time here but they always bounced back with a monster game the next game. That's what I remember the most. So if DeRozan's playoff choker then is Lowry also a playoff choker? or do we forget about the bad Lowry playoff games because he won a championship?

Mobley/Cade/Barnes another one. To me this is a 2 man race. Mobley and Barnes and there's a big gap. Cade has no business being in this convo but he's 2nd on NBA rookie ladder and he's also #2 on ESPN rankings. The NBA is clearly pushing Cade as a star.

In hockey, come on. People need to stop comparing Matthews to McDavid. There's no rivalry. This ain't Gretzky and Lemieux. I get what they're doing though. They're trying to hype up Matthews. Matthews is a good player but nowhere near McDavid's level. That's just the truth.

And neither one could shine Crosbys shoes.

[G__Deane]

Maybe we can get Drake to endorse Mobley for ROY, thereby ensuring Barnes wins it ....

[golden]

They haven't just taken away Jarrett Allen though, Rondo and Sexton have been out as well and you know how the bigs get exposed when point of attack is porous. I don't know how good Duncan was in his rookie season, but I doubt he was as good as what he became. Duncan also had the Admiral and a Pop coached defense in front of him. Let's cut Mobley a bit of slack here, nobody should me making him sound like anything but a complete stud the way he's played this season.

Having said that, Barnes is way more versatile being able to defend all positions and with his ability to create for his teammates. Mobley is more polished and there in lies the higher ceiling for Barnes who has yet to start that process. Mobley wins ROY because it's a popularity contest like you say.

Taking away Sexton straight up improves your defense. He's a microwave bucket-getter, not a defender... in the Lou Williams mode. And Rondo admitted, something like 5 years ago, that he hadn't played defense in years. Playoff Rondo is different. So, I would argue that taking away Rondo and Sexton is actually helping Mobley on defense, which is where his HoF reputation has already been made.

[TrueTorontoFan]

Taking away Sexton straight up improves your defense. He's a microwave bucket-getter, not a defender... in the Lou Williams mode. And Rondo admitted, something like 5 years ago, that he hadn't played defense in years. Playoff Rondo is different. So, I would argue that taking away Rondo and Sexton is actually helping Mobley on defense, which is where his HoF reputation has already been made.

yup that's just it.. the second he was confirmed to not be playing this season I figured that fixed their perimeter problems.