3 areas where Cavs’ Evan Mobley needs to improve in season’s 2nd half

Rebounding, rebounding, and more rebounding

Coming out of college, I picked up early that Mobley is not the best rebounder. He wasn’t at the college level at USC, where he was often the tallest guy on the court. But rebounding is not just about who the tallest team is, even though if that was the case, the Cavs would be set up just fine. It’s also about positioning and instincts.

In his only year at the college level, Mobley only averaged 8.7 rebounds per game. While part of that issue is related to his strength, which I’ll touch on later, even more of it is related to positioning. He’s often found too far underneath the basket to make any real attempt to rebound the ball. Some of that will come with time, considering he’s still only 20 years old, but he should be watching film on plays like that, where he can learn from his mistakes of the past.

Like I said, it’s not like rebounding is a major flaw in Mobley’s game, but it’s an area where he can improve. It’s also very good for him to have a guy like Jarrett Allen around. Allen averages nearly 11 rebounds per game, which is good for eighth in the NBA. The Cavaliers did the right thing bringing back Allen, and his game should start to rub off on Mobley.

If a shooter takes a shot from the corner, the ball is more likely to go to the other side of the basket than anything else. So using his basketball instincts, which are already spectacular, to move to areas where the ball should be, could add a rebound or two to his average.

Other than positioning on rebounding, Mobley still needs to gain some weight, which will help him go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest players in the NBA. However, putting on muscle is not as easy as it looks for a guy like Mobley.