Indiana Pacers Put DPOTY Evan Mobley on Fraud Watch

Evan Mobley, we’re onto you.

Mobley received 35 first-place votes to win Defensive Player of the Year this season after finishing in third place two seasons ago. The award was expected to be Victor Wembanyama’s to lose for the next several seasons, and his deep vein thrombosis diagnosis took him out of the running.

With no Wemby, Mobley looked like a solid pick to win, although the Indiana Pacers have totally embarrassed him.

Through four games, the Cleveland Cavaliers are down 3-1 to the Pacers in the second round. Donovan Mitchell might miss the next game with an ankle injury, and it seems that Cleveland’s remarkable regular season will fall short of even an appearance in the Conference Finals.

Mobley hasn’t been a sieve on defense against the Pacers, but he has certainly not been a defining factor of Cleveland’s efforts and hasn’t been much of an obstacle. He missed Game 2, and in the three games he has played, hhe as recorded just three total blocked shots.

In the regular season, opponents shot only 44.5 percent on all shots when guarded by Mobley, and he held them to a remarkable 54.4 percent inside six feet, which was one of the best marks in the league.

The Pacers are shooting 66.7 percent from six feet or less against Mobley, and Pascal Siakam has hit eight of his 11 attempts over the DPOTY. Myles Turner has made 75 percent of his shots over Mobley this series.

On offense, Mobley has remained close to his season averages in the Conference Semifinals, although his real impact was supposed to be on the defensive end of the floor, and he has come up short.

If the Pacers send the Cavs packing for Cancun on Tuesday in just five games, it’s hard to imagine Cleveland not being the laughingstock of the NBA, and their prized defender was unable to stop the Pacers, who lack a true superstar.

Fraud watch, indeed.

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Indiana Pacers Put DPOTY Evan Mobley on Fraud Watch

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