There's no denying that Donovan Mitchell is the Cleveland Cavaliers' franchise player. They'll only go as far as he can get them, and the front office has given him the keys to ignition by trading Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers.
That said, he may not be their most talented player; Evan Mobley is. As such, he can be the X factor to get this team over the hump. The team is significantly better when he's locked in, and they look like a borderline lottery team when he's struggling.
That's why it's been so refreshing to watch him trend back in the right direction. He struggled after coming back from his calf injury, and he's finally starting to show flashes of his usual self over the past couple of games.
Evan Mobley is finally getting his groove back after his calf injury
Mobley was the team's scapegoat in the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He grabbed just two rebounds and got manhandled by Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, once again showing some of his woes in big games.
Fortunately, he's bounced back in a big way since that dud. He had 12 with seven rebounds after that, and the arrow is trending upward with 23 points and 12 rebounds and 17 points and 12 boards in the past couple of games.
The Cavaliers are committed to Mobley because they know how incredibly gifted he is. Even if he never turns out to be the elite three-level scorer he has the potential to become, he's a disruptive defensive force who can guard one through five.
This team has Mitchell and James Harden to do the heavy lifting on offense. They just need their two bigs to coexist in the paint, clean the glass, and make the most of their physical tools to be the dominant defensive one-two punch they can be.
Mobley is instrumental to this team's success. Having him on the court gives Kenny Atkinson a Swiss Army knife defender who can also play the five in small-ball lineups. They need him locked and loaded, playing with the chip on his shoulder he's shown over the past couple of games.
Consistency and character issues will always be a concern with him, so it might be a little too early to celebrate. That said, this should be the new baseline and standard for one of the most gifted two-way players in the game.