Cavs two studs and two duds from Monday’s win over Clippers

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Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports) /

Cavs two studs: Evan Mobley and the team’s overtime play

I don’t think I need to dive into too much detail on why Mobley was Monday’s biggest stud. The big man from USC had notched 30 points for the first time of his career, and it resulted in a win. If you look at the big picture, which I’ve tried to do in my weekly rookie ladder articles (here’s the latest one), it’s very rare to see a rookie have such a positive impact on a team.

I may not know everything, but it’s pretty clear to me that Evan Mobley doesn’t appear to have much, if any baggage, either. On an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast from the end of January, Brian Windhorst said it best when talking about Mobley’s impact on winning, which this being an excerpt from that clip.

"“To actually be able to say we’re going to win games because of me (Mobley), as a 19-year-old, is very un-heard of. And when you watch him play, he’s got a lot of room to grow.”"

Obviously, there’s more to it, and I would encourage every NBA fan to listen to the 15-minute clip from the whole episode (and you can listen to the full episode here), as the two go back and forth on Mobley, Garland, and some of the other best young players in the league. Alright, so back to Mobley.

In regards to the quote, I don’t think you could put it any better than Windhorst did. Mobley was sensational Monday night, while also being very efficient. However, when you watch the young man, there are definitely moments where you wish he would have been stronger and grabbed a rebound, or backed down a smaller player, and that’s fine.

Mobley does have a lot of room to grow, and if anything these last few games have just been more proof of how special of a player the Cavs drafted with the third overall pick.

Also, overtime was a stud here. Yes, the Cavaliers needed the win, so a lot of use watching were surely on pins and needles. Sometimes every once in a while you need a quick jolt of overtime to get you back into basketball mode. On top of that, the Cavs are now undefeated in overtime games.