Scouting Report: Matt Mobley
Continuing the series with another great scorer. Matt Mobley (Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt) averaged 20 points per game in German BBL and he was the second best scorer in the competition.
BACKGROUND INFO
Position: SG
Height: 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Date of Birth: 1/9/1994
Nationality: American
Previous clubs:
2018–19 Spirou Charleroi
2019 Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez
2019–20 Sigortam ITU BB
Played his Freshman and Sophmore years for Central Connecticut State but his Junior and Senior years for St. Bonaverture. In his first year at St. Bonaverture he was amogst the top scorers in his division with 18.5 points per game. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his NCAA career. Mobley had some workouts with NBA teams before the 2018 NBA Draft but went undrafted, played for the Utah Jazz in the Summer League but after that started his professional journey in Belgium for Spirou Charleroi. After that he played for Pau-Orthez in France and Sigortam ITU BB in Turkey before he joined Fraport Skyliners. He joined them last season already and played one game for the team and then the season was cancelled.
VIDEO REPORT:
OFFENSE
Shooting: Matt is one of the best shooters in Europe and he is usually shooting around 40 % for three and around 90 % from the free throw line. His release is quick and very smooth and he has no problem making shots off the dribble, spot up or coming off screen. Reads the defense very well and can create separation with his off ball movements. Has long range and occasionally can surprise the defense with a shot a few feet behind the three point line. If you give him enough shots, he will score some points, no matter the competition level.
Slashing: He looks more confident in his shooting than in his slashing ability but can score some points at the rim too. Not an elite 1vs1 player, especially when he is guarded really closely he struggles sometimes to break the defender but on the other hand, if you give him enough space, he will get past the defender and to the rim without much trouble. Has decent handles and ball control but again, doesn’t look the most reliable ball handler under pressure.
Pick & Rolls: Majority of his action comes out of pick & rolls. He can create some points for himself and for his teammates but has room for growth in this area. Sometimes making some poor reads and bad passes and limited to first level passes in pick & roll actions. I think he can become a little more efficient in pick & roll actions but don’t see him as a top level pick & roll player.
Passing: As mentioned before, he can dish some nice passes and assist but has limited court vision to first level passes. If the defense commits and gravitates too much towards him he will punish that with some assists to open teammates and can sometimes make some advanced passes and even though he is averaging around 3 assists per game, I think he lacks the creativity for the playmaking role and is way more useful as a scorer.
Transition: Matt is fluid on open court, can go all the way to the rim or stop and take a shot early in the clock. Likes to run or push after grabbing a rebound or getting a steal. Showing some good feel and likes to involve his teammates in transition too.
DEFENSE
Perimeter Defense: As almost always with those elite scorers, they are not the best on the defensive end and Matt is no exception. Pretty light feet and has solid reactions and lateral movements but mostly lacks aggressiveness and focus. Not tough enough and better 1vs1 players can take advantage of that.
Off-Ball Defense: Lack of focus is pretty obvious in his off ball defense where he allows too many cuts and runs around screens poorly. Occasionally showing some good reads on closeouts but I think this needs to improve for the highest level.
Pick & Roll Defense: There is a lot to improve in his pick & roll defense too. He doesn’t make the best reads, not initiating the contact and also occasionally lacks effort and hustle in defense. Frankfurt was also switching a lot in defense and Matt was a liability on low post against bigger guys. He doesn’t have the size to defend down low and better teams can exploit this.
Steals & Rebounds: Matt is showing some good instincts for steals and rebounds. With his long arms he can make some deflections and also sneaky enough to go around the player for some steals. Also active as a rebounder and likes to help the team in rebounding. And after grabbing a rebound or getting a steal, he loves to push in transition and look for easy points.
SUMMARY
Matt Mobley has proven this season that he can be an efficient scorer on basically any level. If you give him the freedom and run some sets for him so he can get open, he will almost always give you some points.
Has limitations as a defender on perimeter and as a defender down low but with his instincts he can help the team in rebounding and make some steals.
If a team is looking for a player that can score some points, Matt should be pretty high on their shortlists.
