At the beginning of last month, one had to have been hopeful the Cleveland Cavaliers could be primed for a strong batch of outings. Cleveland did stumble a bit coming out of the All-Star break, with two losses to the Denver Nuggets and then, in blowout fashion, to the Atlanta Hawks.
For the month ahead to come, the Cavaliers did have a good chance to rack up victories, though, and build momentum heading into what looked to be a playoff run. The Cavs had a record of 9-5 last month, which was a solid response, despite a few close losses, in particular, that were a bit frustrating.
Cleveland has lost both of their contests this week, but still have won six of 10, and last month, and they should be set to have homecourt advantage in the first round. It was a soft schedule for the most part, admittedly, as Cleveland had several wins against teams that aren’t realistically in the playoff picture, but to the Cavaliers’ credit, they got the job done most of the time, and are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2018. This will be the first time Cleveland will have reached the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1998, also.
This past month was one where, regardless of circumstances, it was imperative Cleveland take care of what lied in front of them, and continue to move forward. The Cavaliers did a decent job in that aspect, and even with them being set up for success in the last full month of the regular season, with the team still a young group overall, some setbacks could’ve potentially occurred.
For the most part, that didn’t happen, however, and the group did do better than last season in games where Jarrett Allen has not been active down the stretch. And one Cavs standout really set the tone in March, as he has a bunch in the second half of the season, and he helped the team stay on track with the playoffs looming.
Evan Mobley was once again our Cleveland Cavaliers Player of the Month, thanks to his impact defense and burgeoning offensive play.
Mobley just keeps getting better and better, and last month he was terrific on both ends of the floor.
Mobley’s March
In March, Evan Mobley had 18.1 points per contest on 58.4 percent shooting, to go with 9.6 rebounds per game in his 14 appearances, and he had a robust plus-minus of plus-6.9. He was routinely making plays as a heady off-ball contributor in that stretch, and Mobley’s much-improved rolling abilities were on display, which has been good to see, whether or not Allen has been in action.
Mobley’s gotten more aggressive as the season has worn on offensively on-ball as well, and last month, for instance, improvements in him getting stronger paid dividends, leading to him being able to finish through contact and/or draw fouls. The three-point game is not there much from Mobley yet, but his post touch, timing as a cutter and smooth game inside the arc all led to him being in a great rhythm in March, as we’ve often seen in his play since the calendar has turned to 2023.
Mobley had 3.6 assists per contest last month as well, to an average of 1.3 turnovers. As he’s gotten more games under his belt, his passing feel has been another area where he’s been showcasing more and more signs of growth, and that’s been very encouraging with the playoffs set to begin in a couple of weeks.
From there, Mobley’s defense was, once again, big-time for the Cavaliers in this past month of games.
His rim protection, sound and impact shot contests, and versatility in switchout situations were on display in a bunch of games in that stretch. Mobley had 2.2 blocks per game in March, and in the 14-game span, he had nine games with multiple blocks. It’s been impressive to see him often keep the ball in play after his rejections, too, when that’s been sensible.
So, after he was the KJG Cavs Standout for February and for January, Mobley has been more than deserving of that distinction again for March.
A couple of others were in the running, too, though, or at least one, feasibly.
Other Cavs notables in March
Donovan Mitchell was the other player who could’ve been deserving, as he had 30.6 points per game in March, in 13 appearances, to go with 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. The Cavaliers lost to the New York Knicks on Friday night, but Mitchell had yet another 40-plus-point outing, with 42 big ones then, on 16-of-23 shooting.
In March, Mitchell had five 40-point games, and after the Knicks game, he passed LeBron James for a single-season Cavs record (via Cavs Notes), with his 11th 40-point game of the 2022-23 campaign. Mitchell has been outstanding for the Cavaliers throughout this season, in what’s been his first year with the team following his trade acquisition last offseason from the Utah Jazz.
As for his starting backcourt running mate, Darius Garland had a solid month for the Wine and Gold in March, with 20.9 points and 7.5 assists per contest in 13 appearances. His deep shooting was down a bit then, but he was still playing well, and he continues to make things easier for his teammates.
Garland led the team with a per-game plus-minus of plus-9.3 last month, too. Hopefully, he’ll be able to keep the Cavs on the right path throughout games in the playoffs here to come.
Lastly, Caris LeVert deserves some love for his work in the closing stretch of late, too. In his 14 appearances in March, LeVert had 13.6 points per outing on 49.6 percent shooting, including a 47.1 percent shooting clip from three, and he tacked on 3.7 assists per contest in his minutes.
LeVert has come on, predominantly as a bench contributor, as the season has progressed, and he led the Cavaliers last month in total steals, with 23.
The Cavs could really use more strong play in the playoffs from LeVert, who has been the key bench player for them in post-All-Star break play. As he’s gotten more comfortable with the team, despite scoring inconsistencies, LeVert has contributed in a number of ways to affect games. It’s understandable why the team and him are rumored to have mutual interest in him re-signing with the team in the offseason.