Cavs Notes relays how Evan Mobley has had terrific Year 1

If you’ve paid some attention to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2021-22 season, you’ve probably seen rookie big Evan Mobley make some things happen in games. Well, maybe more than some.

Mobley, who was the #3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by Cleveland, has been everything a Cavaliers fan would’ve wanted, and more. In his 69 appearances for the Wine and Gold this season, he’s had 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks in 33.8 minutes per contest. That’s not including Tuesday night’s play-in loss at the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

The 7-footer out of USC has made a profound impact this year for the Cavaliers, even as just a 20-year-old first-year player. When watching him play, it’s still hard to believe he’s as young as he is, and is in his first NBA season.

There still are some areas where Mobley has to improve in coming years, with strength and defensive rebounding positioning being a couple of those, and he’ll need to improve in his catch-and-shoot play (just 25.0 percent from three). The dude is just scratching the surface of what he can become, though, and he could be a potential superstar in the not-too-distant future.

Recently, while it was prior to Cleveland’s play-in loss at the Nets, a game where Mobley did still have 19 points and two blocks, a tweet from Cavs Notes on Sunday demonstrated how Mobley has had an outstanding start to his career. And it shows how he has affected games in a myriad of ways.

The above tweet relays how Mobley has had a terrific Year 1 for the Cavs, and is off to a great start.

As we alluded to, there’s areas where Mobley needs to get better, to really become a star in this league. The shooting from beyond the arc is one, along with getting stronger, and defensive rebounding growth is another area I’ll be paying close attention to next season.

That being said, Mobley has been one of the key reasons for the Cavs turning a corner this season, even despite their injury woes. As the above tweet touched on, he’s one of only eight rookies since 1992 to have 1000-plus points, 500-plus rebounds, 150-plus assists, 100-plus blocks and 50-plus steals, and as Cavs Notes hit on, he’s among some pretty darn great company in that list.

Mobley, to echo our own John Suchan’s take, should be the NBA Rookie of the Year, with how consistent he’s been over the course of the season. He recently missed a five-game stretch because of an ankle sprain, and Cleveland went 1-4 then.

Of course, the Cavs been without Jarrett Allen since March 6 due nto a fractured finger, and that hasn’t helped the Wine and Gold, given what Allen means to this team. He’s had a breakout campaign in 2021-22, and was an All-Star, along with Darius Garland.

Regarding Mobley, however, I can’t overstate just how impressive the rookie big has been, when factoring in his interior polish, touch on and off-ball in the paint, with his mid-range/fadeaway abilities, and he’s been incredible for a rookie on defense. His switchability, rim protection qualities, even more so when Allen has been involved, too, and Mobley’s overall basketball IQ for a 20-year-old has often been so impactful.

As Cavs Notes demonstrated in the above tweet from Sunday, although Cleveland lost to Brooklyn in the 7-8 game on Tuesday, throughout his rookie year, Mobley has been a truly invaluable player for the Cavaliers. It’s not as if he didn’t make his presence felt in that play-in game, either.

Needless to say, that aforementioned tweet reiterated how Mobley is off to a terrific start to his career with the Wine and Gold, especially with the company he’s with in hitting those marks, and it’s telling how in the regular season, Cleveland was 40-29 in games he played in. Conversely, the Cavs were just 4-9 in games he didn’t play in.

Our own Justin Brownlow has expressed ad nauseam how Mobley should clearly be the Rookie of the Year, no matter if that ultimately plays out or not. Scottie Barnes and Cade Cunningham are the others seemingly in contention, and they’re off to great starts to their careers, too.

Whether or not Suchan, Brownlow and I are considered biased as Cavs fans, what Mobley has done this season has been so crucial in relation to affecting winning. And he’s one of the key reasons why the Cavaliers improved their win total by 22 games in 2021-22.