1 stud and 1 dud for Cavs in win over Raptors on Sunday

The Cavs stud from Sunday’s W against the Raps: Evan Mobley

The stud for the Wine and Gold on Sunday night in what was a flexed game for both teams on ESPN was Evan Mobley.

Mobley has been amid a tough stretch on the offensive end, objectively, dating back to before the All-Star break, as he had scored in single digits in 6 of his last 13 games coming into Sunday’s, which was not something we’ve been accustomed to compared to most of the rest of the season thus far.

In this Toronto game, though, regardless of circumstances, he was big-time, as he had 20 points on 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) shooting from the field, to go with tying his season-best with 17 rebounds. Mobley was aggressive here in getting to his spots in the lane, got to runners, got a few plays to go in early offense, and he was big on the offensive glass, with seven boards on that end.

He was a menace defensively as well, with three blocks, and although he uncharacteristically did have five fouls, Cleveland benefited from his strong play on that end of the floor, and he made several meaningful contests in crucial stretches.

Along with the other areas we touched on, Mobley did have four turnovers, but his four assists made a difference as well, and there were other instances that could’ve been for him. I’d expect to see Mobley’s playmaking continue to become more of a factor in coming years, too, based on what we’ve often seen this season.