Cleveland Cavaliers Player of the Week for Jan. 17-23

This last week of Cleveland Cavaliers games was a great test for the squad, matching up against two of the Eastern Conferences’ best teams and playing the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time over the last seven days.

The Cavs left this recent stretch 2-1 with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and the Thunder. Their lone loss came against the Chicago Bulls in a game that saw DeMar DeRozan continue his MVP-level play and Chicago had steady contributions from Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic.

The current Big Three for the Cavaliers continued to stand out, but it is Evan Mobley who has my vote for the Cavaliers Player of the Week.

Mobley was the Cavs Player of the Week for this past week’s slate of contests from Jan. 17-23.

Coming into the season, Evan Mobley was looked at as a project, improving on his offensive repertoire as the season went on and providing great defense nightly. Rookie of the Year odds saw Jalen Green as the favorite and this has only seemed to fuel Mobley even more.

On the year, Mobley is averaging rookie highs in rebounds and blocks per game while being third in points per game. The offensive touch is what has impressed the most as his mid-range game and post play have been most noteworthy. Looking at this last week, Mobley averaged 15 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game.

The highlighted game of the week for him was his 15-point, 17-rebound performance against the aforementioned Thunder.

Being the defensive anchor of the team, Mobley’s prowess on that end helped hold the fourth-highest scoring team, the Nets, to just 19 points in the fourth quarter, and down the stretch, the Cavs were even better. In fairness, the injured Kevin Durant wasn’t playing, but that prowess from Mobley also helped the team hold the Thunder to just 87 total points, though.

It’s this defensive intensity that has the Cavaliers with the third-best defense in terms of defensive rating and has Mobley as a legitimate All-Defensive candidate at just 20 years old.

Aside from Mobley, the Cavaliers got continued production from the regulars like Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Kevin Love has continued to give great bench production and since being inserted back into the rotation, Dylan Windler has shown great flashes as a shooter.

With Rajon Rondo having dealt with hamstring soreness, Brandon Goodwin has been asked to step up once again and has played well in spurts. All in all, players have continued to step up when called upon, which further shows how great the system head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has put in place.

Looking to the future, after a treacherous first half of the season, the Cavaliers’ schedule starts to ease up from here on out. Up until the All-Star break from here, the Cavaliers play just three teams with a winning record, which gives them a great chance to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference.

Seeing how tight the current playoff race is and with significant injuries affecting the top teams, it isn’t crazy to say that the Cavaliers still could contend for the top seed in the East. Now, Lauri Markkanen’s reported high ankle was tough to see from Saturday, but Cleveland can still hold it together.

And considering the age of their core, the Cavs are in a phenomenal spot to contend for years to come. This type of success for a team this young is rare and everyone should soak in just how magical this season has been for the Wine and Gold.