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Could Cavs play Mobley at the 3? It’s so crazy it just might work

By Josh Cornelissen

Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/NBAE via Getty Images)
Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Jarrett Allen (left) and Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

Could Cavs play Mobley at the 3? The Best Lineup

We’ve danced around this question thus far, but what is the best lineup to use with Evan Mobley at the 3? The whole idea of moving Mobley up to small forward is to get the team’s best-remaining shooter on the court. Last season that meant starting Lauri Markkanen at the 3, and this time around it would mean playing Kevin Love at the 4.

The best anchor for that group would be Jarrett Allen, which would naturally peg this as a potential starting lineup. Last season J.B. Bickerstaff tended to stagger Mobley and Allen, so to play this group for any length of time would require starting or closing halves with it.

If this group were to start, it would be alongside two defensively-challenged guards in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. That would leave the Cavs open to teams screening for their guards with Kevin Love’s man, attacking the weak spot in the defense, but that also means Allen and Mobley are lurking on the weak side ready to pounce on any rim attacks.

The best lineup to try this out would certainly be the starting group: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Kevin Love and Jarrett Allen. The other option would be to use it as a bench lineup when Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen sit: Mitchell, Caris LeVert/Ricky Rubio, Mobley, Kevin Love and Robin Lopez.