Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans has been flying under the radar in this year’s Rookie of the Year race.
He’s taken a back seat to guys like Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham, who have all been very good in their own right and have all been great defenders for rookies.
Mobley and Barnes are also on decent teams in the playoff hunt, so it makes sense that they would get mentioned ahead of Herb Jones, who went in the second round and was a guy who didn’t have the accolades coming out of college.
But Jones has been one of the best defenders in the NBA this season, rookie or not, and even though Mobley is the one getting most of the praise, Jones is actually the superior defender.
Herb Jones’ defensive numbers are amazing
First off, I would like to say that both of these rookies have been outstanding defenders this season. They are both versatile guys who can disrupt an offense in a number of ways.
But I would give Herbert Jones the edge for a couple of reasons:
-He leads all rookies in combined steals and blocks with 90 total. Mobley is second with 77, though he has played fewer games. Herb averages more steals per game and Mobley more blocks, but they are close in each category.
-Herb Jones is on a worse team with fewer defenders. Cleveland has several rim protectors and guys who can defend, while the Pelicans pretty much just have Herb. That leaves him defending the best player on the other team every night and he has done it whether the guy is a point guard or a center.
-I would also argue that a lot of what Herb Jones contributes can be quantified with a statistic, as he has the ability to stay in front of guys and make them give up the ball before he’s even had a chance to block it or steal if from them.
It’s splitting hairs really, as both Herb Jones and Evan Mobley have been fantastic for their respective teams and deserve recognition on the All-Rookie team.