Evan Mobley makes a superstar statement in Cavaliers win over Hornets

In a closer-than-it-should-have-been 116-102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue their dominant run through the Eastern Conference.

The Cavs visited the Hornets for the first night of another back-to-back, gearing up to face the Miami Heat just one day later. Cleveland surged to an early lead behind a 24-point first quarter for Evan Mobley, who shot 9-for-10 from the field and nailed five three-pointers in just as many attempts.

Despite a 14-point victory, this win was anything but easy for the Cavaliers. After building a substantial lead, Cleveland fell into a frustrating habit of playing with their food, giving the Hornets room to come back into the game. Rubberband Theory has haunted this Cavs squad this season, and coach Kenny Atkinson has never hesitated to show his frustration for the Cavaliers' coasting.

Still, the Cavaliers found their stride and came out on top. Charlotte's young, feisty core battled down the stretch, grabbing clutch offensive rebounds and fighting for every bucket. While this game was an expected result for the Cavs, it was nothing short of another statement performance for Mobley as he builds a case for his first All-Star selection.

Evan Mobley must be an All-Star for the Cavaliers

Evan Mobley made an immediate defensive impact for the Cavs after his 2022 Draft selection. In his second season, he earned All-Defensive honors and was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. Despite tremendous accolades at his age, Mobley has yet to earn All-Star respect due to his offensive shortcomings.

He can't space the floor. He isn't aggressive on offense. He's too one-dimensional. These were the criticisms against Mobley, and for a long time, they were true. Now, though, Mobley is in the midst of a true break out star season. Mobley has taken a larger responsibility on offense and scoring, setting a career-high 17.9 points per game alongside 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks each night.

Against the Hornets, Mobley silenced any lingering doubts. With 41 points, going six-of-eight from deep, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Mobley showed true two-way dominance to lead the Cavs to the victory. It was a brilliant display of the potential that Mobley holds and his ability to assert himself as a bonafide NBA star.

With under a minute in the game, Mobley drained his sixth three, all but shutting the door on a Charlotte comeback. Though Mobley maintained his relatively quiet, emotionless demeanor during the game, his confidence and killer mentality were on clear display.

Mobley's superstar afternoon included two career highs, one for his 41 points and another for his six made three-pointers. This comes off the heels of another stellar shooting night against the Denver Nuggets. Against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Mobley logged 20 points while shooting three-of-five from the arc.

Throughout the season, Mobley has been accurate from deep but has yet to increase his volume significantly. With an average of just 2.1 threes attempted per game, this recent two-game stretch could be an indicator of Atkinson's evolving role for the young star forward. Following the Denver win, Mobley told the media that the Cavs were not running plays directly to open him up from deep, but he was able to get open by popping after setting a pick.

Now, against the Hornets, the three ball seemed like part of the gameplan for Mobley. Atkinson has yet to show hesitation in experimenting and improving on an already-great offense. If Mobley can continue this recent trend, it may open up even more for the Cleveland Cavaliers as a legitimate title contender by the time the playoffs roll around.

The Cavs will travel down to South Beach to face the Heat on Sunday, December 8 for a 6:00pm Eastern Time matchup against Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.