Offensive slide for Cavs’ Evan Mobley had to be expected, but he’ll be fine

With what he’s done for the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout most of the season to this point, Evan Mobley should be the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. That would appear to be without question, with how he’s affected the game on both ends of the floor, and particularly for a Cleveland team that’s been one of the league’s biggest surprises.

On the season, Mobley has had 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per contest, and his selection by Cleveland in the past draft was a home run. The 20-year-old USC product has been such an impressive defender for a guy in his first season, and his feel for the game has been rare for a player of his age. The kid is just getting started, too.

That said, it’s only natural for a young player to take their lumps, and even more so in their first season or two, and while Mobley has been very consistent, in recent weeks, he’s had a tougher go of it. Mobley did have some of a hiccup on the offensive end prior to the All-Star break, and in the five games post-All-Star for Cleveland thus far, he hasn’t been as impactful there.

He’s had 11.4 points per game in this last batch of games on just 42.0 percent shooting, and we haven’t seen him get to his spots as much, and he does need to assert himself more, especially when the matchups are there. I agree with our Justin Brownlow on that. This sort of thing is understandable, for such a young player, anyway; he’ll be fine, though.

An offensive dip has to have been expected for Mobley, but he’ll likely turn things around.

We recently haven’t seen Mobley get himself going as much early in games, and of course, Darius Garland missing some games didn’t help, in that realm. Garland missed Cleveland’s first three games after the All-Star break due to lower back soreness, which has been a lingering issue, unfortunately, but him looking sharp the past two games is encouraging, and also for Mobley.

The rookie has a good rapport with Garland, so that can hopefully help get Evan going some earlier in upcoming games.

What has been somewhat concerning of late, however, has been Mobley’s shot looking flat, as our own John Suchan touched on. That’s been evident in this recent production dip, and Mobley not having as much rotation on shots in the mid-range and/or looks in the paint has not been something we’ve been accustomed to seeing this season. He’s also left some floaters and shots in the paint short, which has been abnormal.

I personally do believe that Garland getting back into the fold should help, as could the scoring and secondary playmaking presence of Caris LeVert to some degree; LeVert should seemingly be back this upcoming week pretty soon from a foot sprain. Rajon Rondo (big toe sprain) should be as well, for what it’s worth, and him and Mobley have seemingly established a nice chemistry.

Nonetheless, it’s still going to be up to Mobley to be more assertive in seeking out opportunities to get to his mid-post opportunities, leading to quick pull-ups, where he’s had success, or using pump fakes or jabs to help generate free throw opportunities. That’s at times gotten him more in-rhythm, and then he’s seemingly been able to get cutting opportunities off that when opponents try to prevent his earlier seals.

In addition, Mobley finding ways to get quick cuts to the rim off-ball in secondary break situations wouldn’t hurt. The same goes for him being able to get favorable position on the weak side, which could eventually led to more productive ball-swings to him, where he could potentially be the beneficiary of cross-matches, where we’ve seen him use quick drives to get interior looks or finish over the top.

The gist is, Mobley needs to get back on track, and more involved earlier on in games. In two of his his last three contests he’s scored in single digits, and as Suchan mentioned, he’s done so in six of his last 13 games, which is not something we’ve been used to, as compared to most of his season.

On the plus side, though, he’s still often been very impactful defensively, as has secondary playmaking from him, and based on his feel for the game and IQ, I do believe Mobley will get out of this rut sooner rather than later. He’s such an impressive young player, and despite it showing yet, I do believe he’ll ultimately close the season strong.

Don’t overreact here, Cavs fans.