Rockets: 3 reasons not to draft Evan Mobley

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Evan Mobley #4 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) /

2. Mobley’s offensive limitations should concern the Houston Rockets

For as much as Mobley’s defense has been lauded, his offensive ability needs major improvement. For starters, his lack of strength limits the threat of any post-up scoring at the NBA level.

This is why he hasn’t developed into a back-to-the-basket scoring force thus far, which isn’t something we should expect to change at the next level. The level of physicality in the NBA will be unlike anything that Mobley has faced thus far.

This will be problematic considering Mobley’s offensive repertoire, as he doesn’t have a reliable jumper either. It’s easy to shrug this off, considering how the modern-day center in the NBA doesn’t roam in the post, as more big men are stepping outside to the 3-point line and are used to stretch the floor.

And while it’s been pointed out that Mobley has the potential to hit the occasional 3-pointer, his low 3-point shooting percentage at the collegiate ranks don’t exactly inspire confidence in his ability to be used in that fashion. The 7-foot center made just 29.7% of his threes during his lone season at USC, which is a concern, as the college three is just 22 feet and 1.75 inches, while the NBA 3-point shot is 23.75 feet.

So Mobley will be shooting farther than he had to in college, and he wasn’t exactly proficient at taking the shot with less distance. It’s clear that Mobley will have to expand his shooting range if the Rockets would have any hopes of using him as a stretch five.

In addition, Mobley will have to get more confident with taking that shot, especially considering how much the Rockets shoot threes. The Rockets have annually hovered around the top of the league in attempted threes, and last season was no different, as the Rockets took 40.6 threes a game, which ranked third in the NBA in 2020-21.

Mobley’s 3-point volume was quite low, as he only took 1.2 threes per game. Aside from just that, his lack of free-throw shooting could present challenges, as he converted on just 69.4% of his trips at the charity stripe.