1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs’ season opening loss to Raptors

Dud: Evan Mobley

Last night’s game almost seems like a microcosm for the 2022 Rookie of the Year Award. Evan Mobley was aggressive early, knocking down a three-pointer for the Cavaliers’ first basket of the 2022-2023 season. However, overall it was a bit of a stinker from the second-year player out of USC. He was aggressive at times but also was a bit careless with the ball, giving the ball up three times.

On top of that, he only had one block on the night and finished with a measly six rebounds. I know it will take time for Mobley to grow, and this is likely just an unlucky start to the season. With that being said, Pascal Siakam and Barnes made Mobley’s night pretty difficult, hitting jumpers over his out-stretched arms, and hitting the glass hard.

Overall it looks as though Mobley has bulked up a bit from last season, and he should be better in the next couple of games and moving forward. Yet even so, if you are keeping track at home this was a win for Scottie Barnes and his fans. Mobley had the worst +/- on the team, and didn’t affect as many shots as he would have liked. The hope is that he comes out ready to play against the Bulls.

Overall, there isn’t a whole lot to take away from this game. Without Garland for 3 quarters, the Cavs just aren’t the same, and don’t mesh as well without him. Like Chris Fedor said in the above tweet, we’ll see when he makes his return to the court, but likely it’s soon. Hopefully he’s back shortly so we can get a real look at how good the Cavs can be this season.