Cavs: 3 takeaways for Mfiondu Kabengele from Summer League Game 1
By Mack Perry
The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off their Summer League festivities against the team that drafted one spot ahead of them, the Houston Rockets, in a highly anticipated matchup that featured the draft’s top two prospects.
While Jalen Green and Evan Mobley dominated most of the attention, there were other players to watch. Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, and Jaylen Hands all performed well during their time on the court but the performance that caught my eye was from one Mfiondu Kabengele.
A former first-round pick of the LA Clippers in the 2019 NBA Draft, Kabengele was traded to the Sacramento Kings in March and subsequently waived. He caught on with the Cavs late in the season and appeared in 16 games for them. He is with Cleveland in Las Vegas hoping to earn a spot on next year’s roster, as his contract is currently non-guaranteed.
Kabengele’s stat-line doesn’t pop off the screen like Green’s (23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) or look as productive as Okoro’s (17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) but his performance was something that he can build upon. With that being said, here are three takeaways from Kabengele’s first summer-league game of 2021.
His rebounding was a welcome sight for a team that needs a true backup Center
Kabengele appeared to be in just the right place at the right time as he was snagging boards left and right. His presence on the glass gave Cleveland plenty of second chance looks as he battled his way to 13 rebounds total, with 5 coming on the offensive glass. It was a performance that was very reminiscent of what former Cavs’ big man Tristan Thompson used to bring to the table.
In fact, Kabengele and Thompson have very similar builds, both listed at 6-9 and the former listed at a playing weight of 250 pounds while the latter is listed at 254. Much like Thompson, Kabengele is a bit undersized at the center position but tends to play bigger than he actually is.
His positioning on more than a few of those rebounds showed that his awareness around the rim is something that you can’t teach. It’s a skill that he must continue to hone if he is to contend for playing time in a very crowded frontcourt. In a very limited sample size (16 games) with Cleveland, Kabengele averaged 8.9 rebounds per 36 minutes. Those are telling numbers for a player who rarely saw the court for more than 12 minutes a night.
If Kabengele is able to replicate his success on the glass in the team’s upcoming matchup with the Orlando Magic, it’s going to be hard to not include him within the rotation to begin the season.