Cavs: Evan Mobley is off to outstanding start defensively

I’m not going to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a huge pat on the back for selecting Evan Mobley at #3 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. There were rumors involving the team trying to potentially another draft pick via trade later on, but it seemed that Cleveland ultimately drafting Mobley, particularly if Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green were off the board, was a no-brainer.

That’s what occurred, and instead of overthinking it, the Cavaliers made the heady play there. I guess they did the smart thing in that realm, with how Mobley is a rare big.

Coming into the season, in which it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Mobley would start, per a report/the conversation then, it was still a bit uncertain as to how Mobley would play early on.

He was the key reason why USC made a surprising run to the Elite Eight in his lone collegiate season, and it was evident that he could affect games on both ends, sure.

Defensively, his ability to guard and bother perimeter threats when needed, combined with his anticipation off-ball and shot blocking/blocking made it seem he’d help there from the jump, and offensively, his passing, driving/rolling and touch were crucial strengths. Three-point shooting needed and still needs work, involving the catch-and-shoot game, and with him thin, he’ll need to add productive weight gradually.

Overall, though, heading into the season, it was still somewhat unclear as to how Mobley would start out playing. And it’s early obviously, but boy, has he done a heck of a job thus far for such a young player.

Mobley, who had his first double-double in Saturday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, has had 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per contest.

Heck, he’s even leading Cleveland currently in minutes per game at 33.0 through four games.

Now, I’m not discounting what he’s brought offensively, regarding his mid-range/floater touch, cutting/rolling feel and especially not his passing, however, what to me has really been awesome has been his defense. Even with that end being such a big strength of his coming into the league, from my perspective, he’s exceeded expectations early on, which is a big deal.

Cavs: We’re not discounting the offensive end, but Mobley is off to an outstanding start defensively.

Getting down to it, Mobley has been as advertised on the money end of the floor; we’ll start by examining his individual defense.