1 stud, 1 dud, 1 shrug from Cavs’ agonizing loss to the Clippers
1 shrug from Cavs’ agonizing loss to Clippers: Evan Mobley
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been wondering when Evan Mobley would have his big offensive breakout game. He certainly already had them on the defensive end, including when he went Dikembe-Mutombo on the Detroit Pistons on Friday with eight blocks. That offensive explosion finally came on Monday when Mobley dropped 26 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. All 12 of those baskets came inside the paint as he dominated the Clippers’ small frontcourt.
On the other hand, he lacked some of that defensive impact last night. He had no steals and no blocks, three turnovers and fouled out after logging three fouls in the final five minutes to reach six for the game. In a game the Cavs lost by two points, he was a team-worst -20 on the night; the next-worst was Cedi Osman at -5.
When the Clippers began their run the Cavs were trying to survive with Evan Mobley at the 5, Kevin Love at the 4 and the three starters at the 1-3. That puts a lot of defensive pressure on Mobley, and he wasn’t able to lock down the Clippers. He obviously wasn’t helped by the turnovers committed by his teammates, and asking him to be the lone plus defender was a tough one from the coaching staff.
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The Clippers are a good team, no matter their shaky start to the year, and the Cavs played well against them and could have won this game. The agonizing end hurts, and it should, but it helps to have game tape to look at for handling late-game scenarios. Darius Garland will bounce back and the Cavs should be in great shape for what looks like a true breakout season.