After looking in control of their first round series against the Toronto Raptors, the Cleveland Cavaliers head back home for a pivotal game five and the series tied at 2-2.Â
Cleveland’s offense in the first two games was absolutely unstoppable, but as soon as they left U.S. borders, that offense seemed to stay back in Cleveland. The Cavs averaged 96.5 points in games three and four against the Raptors, and while James Harden and Donovan Mitchell were poor, Evan Mobley was worse.
Mobley dominated the first two games of the series on both sides of the floor, but was completely neutralized in Toronto. It’s not like he wasn’t good defensively, but for someone who was the Defensive Player of the Year last season, you expect him to make his presence felt. For Cleveland, there is one way for him to do that for the rest of the series.
The adjustment for the Cavs needs to be putting Mobley on Barnes and matching his minutes with him
Barnes had a great game three, where he scored 33 points and had 11 assists. During the series, he has been scoring against Mobley and shooting 56.5 percent from the field, but context matters for these numbers.
Mobley has been sagging off Barnes tremendously, almost daring him to shoot jumpers and Barnes has been eating that space up. It’s almost like Mobley isn’t even trying to be aggressive guarding Barnes, which needs to change since Barnes is hitting shots.
When Mobley is super active and aggressive on defense, it tends to impact the rest of his game. His offense comes along with it, which is what Cleveland is going to need moving forward. It’s also shocking to see Mobley look so passive in that area, considering that he usually gets up for the matchup with Barnes.
The Cavs put Dean Wade on Barnes in Game Four, and it ended up working out, as Barnes was held to 23 points on six-of-15 shooting and had trouble hitting shots. Mobley guarded Brandon Ingram, which also worked as Ingram shot six-of-23 from the field, and Mobley was able to bother him with his length.Â
The reality is that Mobley needs to be better if Cleveland wants to shift the momentum back in their favor this series. He’s an All-NBA talent and an All-Star and he has shown that he can play like one. Maybe giving him the task of guarding Barnes will amp up his aggressiveness and help him get his assertion back on track.
The big man needs to have a big finish to this series if the Cavs want to get out of the first round. All hope is not lost yet, as Cleveland does have homecourt advantage in game five and would in a potential game seven as well. Hopefully, a little home cooking re-energizes Mobley, but they are going to need the best version of him possible.
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