Heading into his second season, many believe that Evan Mobley is in line for a sizeable leap with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s hardly a hot take to think that will occur. Mobley finished as the runner-up for the NBA Rookie of the Year last season, losing in the closest race since 2002-03, and he had a profound effect on winning.
As for the traditional counting stats, Mobley had 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per outing. The Cavaliers were 40-29 in the regular season games he appeared in, which was noteworthy, too.
Mobley’s wide-ranging defensive abilities, including in switchout situations, were so impressive for a rookie 6-foot-11 player, and his rim protection was among the best in the league.
On the offensive end, his touch in the paint, finishing with authority, mid-range shot creation and secondary playmaking abilities were all encouraging as well. Diddo for his off-ball feel.
It was apparent that looking onward, for Mobley’s offense to be maximized, he does need to show further progression from three-point range, though. He shot only 25.0 percent from three on 1.3 attempts per outing in his rookie season, and was noticeably hesitant in the second half of the year.
The shot is workable, on the plus side, and with his mid-range and touch in other areas in mind, it’s reasonable to think he can be more viable from deep on catch-and-shoots at least fairly soon. He had seemingly been working a ton on the deep ball over the offseason, and that, along with him looking noticeably more put-together physically, should pay off for him.
The Cavaliers have been stressing that when he’s open from three, they want Mobley to take those shots, too. That’s per Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and via Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and Right Down Euclid.
#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff shared with me that if Evan Mobley is open on the perimeter, Cleveland wants him shooting it and doesn’t want to ease him in out there.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) September 30, 2022
Bickerstaff thinks Mobley has the potential to be an elite three-level scorer.
Mobley pulling more from three could do wonders for him personally and the Cavs.
Mobley demonstrated that he can create for himself on plenty of occasions last season on-ball, and while there were some rough patches, as there realistically are for all rookies, for a first-year big, that was promising from him. He does to sharpen up his handle some to really hone in there, but there’s a lot to build on in that regard, and for such a young big, he’s better than many in that realm, and he’ll only get better.
As we hit on, anyway, Mobley pulling more from three is an improvement area to watch this coming season.
That wasn’t on display much after the calendar turned to 2022 last season, and while playmaking restrictions aside from Darius Garland then had some to do with it, it’s an area where he’ll have to show some growth. This would be mixed in with how he can make plays in other parts of the floor, and for others.
Now, nobody is expecting Mobley to be launching threes in the mold of a Kevin Love-type player, and that’s probably never going to be the case.
That said, it’s not far-fetched to think Mobley could be shooting 3-3.5 triples in an off-ball sense per game in his second year, and if he’s decisive, I do believe in playing off of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, he could find his rhythm more. Caris LeVert, Raul Neto and when he’s back from injury, Ricky Rubio can aid Mobley in that area, too.
Mobley has again seemingly been working a bunch on his three-point shooting, and mixed in with him working on his shot creation it’s appeared over the offseason, if he pulls more from deep, it could do wonders for his overall game.
And with Mobley being a quality passing big and unselfish, other guys can benefit from him potentially displaying real growth there off that.
In that regard, with Mobley being able to convert in other areas, and flashing some driving capabilities against opposing bigs, if there’s more of a threat from deep from him, it could lead to more drives, and cutters and shooters could be more open. We’ll have to see on that aspect, but it’s something I’ll be paying close attention to.
As Bickerstaff above stated, via Dammarell, Mobley could be an elite three-level scorer in time, also factoring in his offseason work in adding more muscle/seemingly some meaningful weight. It’s paramount that he showcases from legit progression on those catch-and-shoots in 2022-23, though. Hopefully his work in making that more fluid, with less hesitation in letting it fly, pays dividends.