Cleveland Cavaliers: Evan Mobley will terrorize opposing shooters

Evan Mobley is going to need to fill out in coming years for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as for a 7-foot player, he’s currently only listed at 215 pounds.

I fully understand that, and it will take him time to be able to regularly hold his own against more physical bigs in the NBA when they are taking it to the interior or can get inside position.

But, it’s not as if Mobley is going to be a complete sieve or anything, and in today’s often three-point/perimeter skill-centric NBA, at least to a large extent, his perimeter defensive abilities should be key from the jump.

The likes of Jarrett Allen, and perhaps if he is back, Isaiah Hartenstein, could aid Mobley on the interior, too, for what it’s worth. Or maybe a veteran, low-cost free agent 5 pickup such as Bismack Biyombo or Aron Baynes could.

Regardless, even with Mobley needing to fill out in time, I do still believe his fluidity, lateral quickness for a big, ability to cut off driving lanes and his shot altering/blocking will be on display early and often for Cleveland. He had 2.9 blocks per contest in his lone collegiate season at USC, and had a block rate of 8.8 percent with the Trojans.

But another thing, in particular, could be seen throughout games too, in relation to the defensive end. It’s how his length and shot contests will be a terror for opposing shooters. And props to Cavs superfan Hiram Boyd for pointing out how Mobley should be pressing out and making getting perimeter looks off difficult, as some may be glossing over a bit.

Cavs: Mobley’s length and shot contests are going to give shooters fits.

Of course, Mobley’s 7-foot-4 wingspan helps him out as a rim protector/shot altering presence in the paint as a rotator. I’m not discounting that from him, and his instincts as a help and weak side defender should aid the likes of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and others.

That said, even though he will need to gradually add weight in coming seasons, even early on, Mobley’s ability to press out on to perimeter shooters, and still be able to deter drives, may be a bit overlooked, as Boyd expressed.

Mobley’s wingspan makes a difference in primary defense against pull-up/off-the-bounce shooting threats in the on-ball sense, and that sort of thing will be a problem for perimeter threats. The switchability against perimeter players is one thing, and that should be impactful if the Cavs can communicate through switches/give help off-ball if needed, and that is apparent.

However, Mobley’s length and ability to pressure guards/wings and stay within arm’s length so easily will again, make getting quality looks off far more difficult, combined with his agility.

And in addition to the on-ball perspective, Mobley’s length will terrorize shooters in the off-ball sense.

His feel for anticipating ball-swings as a rotator does lead to some steals/deflections, and I’m not dismissing that, but on the subject, his lateral quickness for a 7-footer allows him to really bother off-ball shooters, and that led to errant shots regularly at USC in those situations. That’s in the same realm as to when he was in primary defense, when he actually got his share of blocks on jump shooters.

But to the last point, Mobley’s length and proficiency with his contests of shooters, is not something that’s seemingly discussed enough amongst Cavs fans. That’s whether it’s as a rotator from the strong or weak side, thanks to his recovery quickness and defensive IQ; he tangibly affects perimeter shooters and causes them to hesitate fairly regularly.

It’s not just the shot blocking/contests in the paint with Mobley that should be impactful. Him being able to smother driving lanes/make skip passes difficult with his feel and timing and length, combined with his polish with shot contests should make an instant difference for Cleveland’s defense.

Even for a 20-year-old rookie, the USC product is going to give opposing shooters nightmares.

He is a legitimate threat to block perimeter shots, whether that be via primary or rotational defense; that’s not normal, especially for a player that young.