Cavs’ Player of the Week goes to a budding star big man

Last week was a solid week for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they went 2-1. Even more impressive was the fact that they beat an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid and his Philadelphia 76ers by 28 points. The Cavs beat the Orlando Magic by 11 points, but then lost by 11 to the New York Knicks two days later.

As always, we come together to pick a Player of the Week. Looking at the individual Cavaliers’ stats, we have two candidates this week.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a solid week. The winner of the Cavs’ Player of the Week Award is a young big just budding into a star.

First, we have the usual in Donovan Mitchell. He put up 25.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per night, while also sporting 48.1/48.3/91.7 shooting splits. He also had a plus/minus of +29 across those three games, including an amazing +20 against Philadelphia.

Next on the list is Evan Mobley. I know what you may be thinking, “why is Darius Garland not on this list?” Well, to me, Mobley and Mitchell both had superior weeks over Garland and were on another tier compared to DG. Sure, Garland put up 18.7 points, 6.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds per night in those three games, but he had a +/- of only +2 in the three games. He also shot 40.0% from the field, which isn’t the best sight in the world.

As for Mobley, he put up 15.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in those games, while also shooting 72.4% from the field. His +/- was also +39 for the week, and Mobley had a +23 against the 76ers. One small bad thing is that he had four fouls against Philly, and only played 24 minutes because of it. However, he hit a triple against Orlando, showing off his range.

For me, the Player of the Week Award goes to Evan Mobley. Sure, maybe voter fatigue had a part in not taking Mitchell, but Mobley still had a tremendous week. Since November 30th Mobley has a defensive rating of 95.8, and that ranked third in the league since that date with at least three games played. Even better, his offensive rating was 141.3, and he also chipped in 2.3 blocks per night.

This week, in my eyes, showed flashes of great playmaking from Mobley. He made smart passes and played like a veteran instead of a second-year player. And like usual, Mobley’s defense was still one of the league’s best.

I am a firm believer that Mobley can make an All-Defensive team this season, and believe he can be an All-Star sooner rather than later. His performance this week is a step in that prestigious direction.