NBA Rookie Rankings: Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes vie for Rookie of the Year; Cade Cunningham keeps impressing

Also, Jalen Green is a menace in transition

There's been a lot of chatter recently about the Rookie of the Year award, and who is deserving of it. In most years the award typically goes to the player averaging the most points. It's difficult to look past those numbers for first-year players because most of them are on rebuilding teams that allow them to get up enough shots to put up big numbers. We've certainly seen that in some cases this season -- think Cade Cunningham's situation in Detroit, or Jalen Green's in Houston. Both guys are first and second in points per game among rookies, respectively, and in the case of Cade, should be mentioned in the conversation for Rookie of the Year. 

But if we're ranking the top three rookies in the class this season, Cunningham would be behind both Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes. Those two players have the best argument for Rookie of the Year right now. Not only do they have the numbers -- Barnes is averaging 15.3/7.6/3.4 and Mobley is averaging 15.1/8.3/2.6 -- but they've both been consistent all season long and have had a considerable amount of impact on winning teams that look to be in the playoffs. 

I couldn't tell you who I'd vote for right now, because as impressive as Mobley has been on defense all season and seeing his offensive game develop, Barnes has been just as good on defense, a wrecking ball on offense and has had to fill numerous roles for the Raptors this season. At one point in the season it felt as though Mobley would run away with the award, but Barnes has closed that gap considerably, to the point where I don't think there is a wrong choice with either winning it. 

Let's move on to this week's rankings. Remember these will reflect a rookie's performance on a week-to-week basis only, and not the collective season. These are not Rookie of the Year standings. With that straightened out, here is a look at the top-performing rookies around the league.

There's not enough that can be said about Cunningham's ability to run Detroit's offense this season, especially lately. This shouldn't be surprising, given that he was expected to be an elite playmaker, but it's always a little jarring when rookies are this good, this early. He's still prone to the typical rookie mistakes, mainly turnovers, but that aside Cunningham's been playing like a guy far beyond his years. It's not that he's making flashy passes, though he is capable of a few of those every now and then. He just makes smart basketball decisions when he has the ball in his hands, and is always thinking a few steps ahead of the defense.

Take this possession against the Clippers, a game in which Cunningham finished with 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. As soon as Saben Lee advances the ball past half-court, Cunningham is already signaling for the ball, realizing that L.A.'s playing zone defense. He exploits the Clippers' fourth-ranked zone defense, and immediately swings the ball to an open Isaiah Livers in the corner for a 3-pointer:   

Exploit is a great word to describe Cunningham's ability to bend the defense to his will. He never seems rushed in his decision making and his eyes are always scanning the floor to make the right play. When he draws to defenders out of a pick-and-roll situation, he's always calm and knows exactly what play he wants to make, like this alley-oop to Marvin Bagley Jr.:

Cunningham's ability to operate with one defender in front of him and another on his hip reminds me so much of Luka Doncic, who has mastered drawing in the defense only to dish out an over-the-shoulder pass or some other dazzling assist. Cunningham plays with a similar pace and feel for the game as Doncic, and if this is his starting point as a rookie, there's no telling how high his ceiling can be in this league. 

What's been most impressive about Mobley is his consistency all season, and his impact on winning for a Cleveland team that has surprised everyone this year with its stout defense. On Monday night against the Clippers, he showed every facet of his game, resulting in a season-high 30 points, to go along with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. 

It was Mobley's fourth game playing without Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt along side him as the Cavaliers big man suffered a fractured finger recently. In those four games, Mobley's been more featured on offense, and as a result he's been averaging 22 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks a game. Against the Clippers, Mobley got whatever he wanted down low, and took advantage of the great floor spacing without Allen on the court.

Defensively, Mobley had three incredibly tough draws this past week, as he was tasked with guarding Bam Adebayo, Nikola Vucevic and Ivica Zubac. He did a solid job in all three games, but it's also evident that he still needs to put on some weight and muscle so he's not as easily moveable down in the low post. Zubac and Vucevic exploited that by posting him up this past week, and it often resulted in an easy bucket. However, Mobley's length, and his ability to check defenders out on the wing is incredibly important to the Cavaliers, and that was again on full display this week.    

Barnes checks off a lot of the same boxes as Mobley, and he's had to do so in a role that's changed consistently throughout the season. He's often been asked to guard the best player on the opposing team, especially as Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby have been in and out of the lineup. Like Mobley, Barnes can get out on the wing and defend, and he can hold his own a little bit better in the low post due to his size and strength. Against the Lakers, he pestered Russell Westbrook and LeBron James out on the perimeter, and on offense he wasted no time punishing L.A.'s defense inside.

In the first quarter alone Barnes tallied 15 points, and outscored the Lakers on his own, as the Raptors held L.A. to just 12 points in the opening quarter. He was getting second-chance buckets, taking players off the dribble and using his strength to muscle his way to the paint and even knocked in a triple:   

That wasn't Barnes' only impressive performance of the week, either. Against the Nuggets, he just kept getting to his spots around the rim, sinking floaters, hook shots, jamming home dunks and crashing the glass for putbacks. Barnes has been so impressive in the paint this season -- especially in transition -- that it has become an absolute necessity for opposing teams to keep him out of the post. However, that hasn't exactly been easy to do. Just look at how easily he skates to the rim after faking the dribble hand-off to Armoni Brooks:

It feels like every game you look at the box score after the first few minutes and see Barnes has already totaled 10 points in the first quarter after fighting for offensive boards and bullying his way to the rim. He's been the key to the Raptors starting games so strong, and so far not many teams have found a way to stop that.  

Since the All-Star break it feels like Green has really begun to turn a corner, and in March what's really stood out is his finishing rate around the rim. Green's finishing over 75 percent of his shots at the rim this month, which ranks in the 97th percentile among guards in the league during that span. It's by far his best month in terms of efficiency around the basket, and you can see the natural improvement when you watch him play. Green's been finishing more controlled around the rim, and he's also getting downhill easier because of his handle. 

Oh, and then there's the fact that the Rockets rank 10th in the league in getting out in transition, which is perhaps where Green is at his most dangerous results in plays like these:

His absurd athleticism is starting to be refined so it's more controlled and less wild than we saw at the start of the season. He still has tons of room for improvement, namely his efficiency from everywhere else on the floor, but we're starting to see a lot of flashes from Green late in the season that hint at the type of player he can become in a few years.      

With star guard Damian Lillard out for what looks like the rest of the season along with CJ McCollum traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, the massive holes in Portland's lineup has allowed for some young guys to shine recently. Watford is the latest example of that for the Trail Blazers, as the undrafted rookie made the most of his two starts this past week. Watford knocked down a couple 3s, but he did most of his damage from mid-range and around the rim. In a win over the Wizards, he racked up 27 points, while shooting 68 percent from the field. He's doing everything he can to prove his worth to a Portland team that faces an uncertain future heading into the offseason. Making the play-in tournament aside, the Blazers will likely look to retool their roster around Lillard for next season, and while Watford may not be a key piece of that, he could become a trade asset for Portland if he continues this play.  

Honorable mentions: Aaron Wiggins, Oklahoma City Thunder (16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists); Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors (16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists); Bones Hyland, Denver Nuggets (16.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists)