One stud and one dud for Cavs in Wednesday’s beatdown of Bulls

Cavs dud: Mobley’s rebounding positioning

I’ll just come out and admit this, there were very few things that did not go right for the Cavaliers last night. However, one thing I noticed multiple times throughout the game, is that rookie big Evan Mobley was routinely finding himself in tough positions to get a rebound. He’s young, and for the most of his life, rebounding has come easily to him. Nonetheless, in the NBA that is not the case.

There were multiple times in the second quarter where a shot would go up and Mobley was already being boxed out by two or three players. It’s nitpicking, I know, but as he continues to develop and put on weight, he should be able to muscle up a lot of opposing big men, and hopefully his rebounding will improve. Well, actually, let’s be honest, his rebounding is going to improve nearly every year.

I see you, Kevin

While I did take the time to go through the stud and dud from last night’s matchup, I also would like to talk about Kevin Love. He’s been an integral leader on this team, and he’s taken a back seat to do so. I remember when everybody wondered if Love would be okay taking a role off the bench in the offseason. On top of that, this summer he made the U.S. Olympic Roster but had to drop out. Leading up to the season, the situation with Love seemed to be getting worse.

However, I would argue that there hasn’t been a more valuable piece to this Cavs sqaud, minus the obvious names, than Love this season. By taking a role on the bench, he’s allowed the first unit to fully mesh and find ways to score. Not only that, while coming off the bench, he’s still a very good rebounder, and is likely still the best outlet passer in the NBA. I remember not even six months ago, people wanted Love out of Cleveland for a couple of nickels.

He’s done his job and more this season, though, and if the Cavs have any playoff aspirations, they would be wise to keep Love around as long as possible.