1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs’ loss to Bucks on Black Friday

1 dud from Cavs’ loss to Bucks: Evan Mobley

There have been games this season where Evan Mobley has been simply dominant defensively, swatting away shots and moving fluidly around the perimeter. For much of the season he has been a truly special defender, flexing versatility you rarely see in a player, especially one in his second year. The common denominator for those games of defensive brilliance? Jarrett Allen sharing the court.

Allen has been one of the league’s best rim protectors this season, right there with Myles Turner and his foil on Friday night, Brook Lopez. Yet when Allen went out with the hop injury it meant that Mobley was called upon to check Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The result was ugly, as Antetokounmpo shredded Mobley and the Cavs’ defense without Allen on the court. Mobley didn’t register a single block and repeatedly stepped the wrong way trying to close off the paint to Antetokounmpo. Defenses find success against Giannis building a “wall” in the paint; instead, Mobley and the Cavs built a runway. The second-half of this Giannis highlight package is filled with Mobley miscues:

Note especially the miscommunication at the 2:04 mark.

Mobley wasn’t just bad on defense, he didn’t help on the offensive end either. He shot 2-for-12 from the field, part of a painful 39.1 percent shooting night for the Cavaliers. Mobley had eight points and 0 assists; in fact, no one on the Cavs had more than three assists.

Evan Mobley will have better games, but he has to develop as a rim protector who can survive without another big body behind him. If he can, then he will elevate his versatility and the Cavs will be equipped to weather absences from Allen. On Friday night, it was Antetokounmpo doing the elevating.