It was hardly shocking when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Evan Mobley with third pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, particularly with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green having gone #1-#2 to the Detroit Pistons and then Houston Rockets. The Cavs didn’t overthink it following that, and it’s paid dividends for them.
With Mobley’s two-way abilities, and the feel he had, and his athleticism and versatility for a big, one can’t say Mobley has been a revelation, as some might suggest.
He’s a rookie, yes, but the dude appeared to be a damn near can’t pass prospect, with him being far from a typical big, and he displayed monstrous potential at USC. Mobley was the primary reason the Trojans made the Elite Eight, and so far, he’s a big reason why the Wine and Gold have gotten off to a 17-12 start.
Given the Cavs’ schedule 29 games in, that’s been outstanding, really, and in the 25 games in which he’s appeared in, Mobley has had 13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest, to go with 1.8 blocks per outing. He and Jarrett Allen have formed quite a defensive duo often at the 4/5 in games, and thanks largely to those two, Cleveland has really found something with having Lauri Markkanen, at the offensive end at least, as a de facto 3.
In Mobley’s case though, which we’ll highlight here, while he still will need to gradually improve as a catch-and-shoot threat, and it’s paramount he gets stronger for both ends, his mid-range and off-the-bounce game has jumped out lately.
Sure, Mobley was 3-of-11 in Cleveland’s win versus the shorthanded Miami Heat on Monday, but that’s pretty abnormal, as compared to most of his season so far. For reference, Mobley had 15 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday’s win over the Sacramento Kings and he was 7-of-14, and he’s showing impressive creation abilities.
That was shown at USC, but it’s been great to see that from him recently, and it’s something that can become more of a go-to for him looking onward.
Cavs: The off-the-bounce game is coming along for Mobley.
To get it out there, it’s apparent that Mobley’s three-point shooting will be a focal point for improvement moving forward, but he’s 20, and even with a 33.3 percent hit rate overall this season, that will come in time, I believe.
And despite him not attempting one in four games, because of him and the Cavaliers having clear advantages with size in the paint, partly due to injuries/absences for opponents, Mobley had hit 37.5 percent from three over a span of 12 games. There’s been signs of growth there.
As previously expressed, however, the off-the-bounce game is coming along for the USC product, and that will be more on display as the season wears on; one shouldn’t read a ton into atypical rough games he’s had, like Monday.
Anyway, while the volume isn’t necessarily high, Mobley has shown he can get to spots in the mid-post, or take advantage of matchups leading to free throws with drives, which is promising.
To reiterate, the volume is not what it nearly has been for looks right near the rim, say via cuts, lobs, putbacks or in secondary transition, but Mobley hitting 47.5 percent of his pull-up two-point attempts so far (per NBA.com’s shot tracking data), has me feeling optimistic. That’s only been on 1.7 attempts per contest, and the frequency has been 14.4 percent, to get that caveat out there, though.
Even still, Mobley has shown with more experience that he can get to his preferred spots on the floor for looks via pull-ups here and there when slow closeouts warrant it, and he’s sprinkled in some great fadeaways. I know that Mobley again needs to get functionally stronger over time; either way, him hitting 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) on turnaround fadeaway attempts early on, per NBA.com’s shooting data, is encouraging.
Plus, Mobley has shown better feel as he’s gotten more experience in the floater game, which was a strength of his coming into the league. With more time, he’s gradually demonstrating he’s starting to figure that out in the league, and has hit 6-of-13 on floater attempts, a 46.2 percent clip.
When factoring in him showing some legitimate driving capabilities when the matchups are there, with these other off-the-bounce looks proving to be more fruitful for him on-ball, by and large, in recent weeks, Mobley’s offense is really coming along nicely, Monday aside.
The sky is the limit for him.