The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Player of the Month for January

At the moment, the Cleveland Cavaliers are fifth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 31-22, in what’s a jam-packed Eastern Conference.

Now, the Cavaliers have had their share of moments this season, and they look to have the makings of a factor in the East for years to come. The group has one of the more formidable young cores in the NBA, with one of the leagues’ best backcourt duos in Darius Garland and offseason trade acquisition Donovan Mitchell, and the Evan Mobley–Jarrett Allen frontcourt is a notable pair in their own right. Mobley-Allen defensively has been big-time, too.

Objectively, the Cavs have had some growing pains to go through this season, though, and last month, that was again evident. In January, Cleveland went 8-8, but something that was concerning was the Cavaliers losing six of nine games on the road in that stretch. On the season, the Wine and Gold have been 10-16 away from home, and that’s still an area where they’ll have to clean some things up.

All of that said, this is still a team that is a talented group, and even with some ups and downs last month, there were plenty of positives and encouraging performances.

With that in mind, here, let’s examine a few notable performers from January, after which we’ll weigh in regarding the latest Cleveland Cavaliers’ Player of the Month.

For this past month, the core guys were the clear standouts for the Wine and Gold, objectively speaking.

With that in mind, here were the splits from January for the likes of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, first, beginning with Garland.

Garland’s January splits:

• 22.6 points and 8.7 assists per game in 14 games played
• A 39.8 percent hit rate from three-point range
• 1.4 steals per contest
• A plus-minus of plus-8.6 in said games

Mitchell’s January splits:

• 26.1 points, 5.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in 10 games played
• A 33.3 percent hit rate from three-point range
• 1.7 steals per contest
• A plus-minus of plus-8.4 in said games

Next up, here’s the snapshot of relevant splits for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

Mobley’s January splits:

• 17.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 15 games played
• A 55.6 percent shooting clip
• 1.6 blocks per contest
• A plus-minus of plus-4.8 in said games

Allen’s January splits:

• 14.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest in 16 games played
• A 67.1 percent shooting clip
• 1.1 blocks per contest
• A plus-minus of plus-3.5 in said games

Each of these players made their mark for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sizeable way last month, as the backcourt had some gaudy splits, Mitchell had his 71-point eruption, in which he also had 11 assists, and Garland had six point-assist double-doubles. Let’s not forget Mitchell’s 46-point binge in a close loss at his former team in the Utah Jazz as well.

Plus, the work of both as team defenders in making great reads leading to steals shouldn’t go unnoticed, and their rotations off-ball led to some impressive efforts as helpers, despite opponents at times making tough shots after the fact.

As for the two frontcourt guys, their two-way abilities were once again on display.

Mobley had three double-doubles, and he had eight games of multiple blocks, whereas Allen had six double-doubles and four games of multiple blocks. And Allen had five games of multiple steals as well.

Ultimately, though, as for the past month, Mobley’s performance jumped out, regarding the two-way aspect, and his assertiveness offensively aided the team and his own play.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Player of the Month for January: Evan Mobley.

For his two-way impact, Mobley was KJG’s Cavs’ Player of the Month for January.

He continues to be one of the Cavaliers’ anchors defensively in tandem with Allen, and despite some inconsistencies for the team overall, Mobley’s defense has still been very impactful for the group.

Plus, what Mobley has shown on the offensive end has been a sight to behold. His cutting and finishing has gotten better and better with more experience, and his shot creation and on-ball growth has been a sight to behold.

We touched on his splits for the last month above, and in this stretch of the past month-plus, he’s continually flashed star potential there. That was demonstrated in his career game in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, when he had 38 points, and while Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t playing, it was still great to see Evan attacking and finishing over Milwaukee’s length.

With his strides made offensively, which includes his evolving passing abilities, rebounding development and defensive skills and feel on both ends often helping the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mobley was the latest Player of the Month.