The wait is finally over as the Cleveland Cavaliers welcome back Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to the lineup after six weeks without two core stars.
If the Cavaliers threw in the towel on December 15, it would be difficult to find many that would ridicule them for it. With an inconsistent 13-12 start to the season, the news that both Garland and Mobley would miss at least a month with injuries seemed like a swan song for Cleveland's playoff hopes. Instead, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff reinvented the team's offensive flow overnight and led them to a 14-4 record without either star.
Cleveland ranked second in three-pointers attempted over those 18 games and regained their defensive dominance, sitting second in the NBA with a 110.7 defensive rating for the season. The two teams ahead of the Cavs in the respective categories are the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves, the top team in each conference. The Cavaliers are in elite company and competing with the best of them with both stars returning at the perfect time.
Upon Evan Mobley's return against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cavs pulled out a 118-108 victory after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks two nights earlier. On a minutes restriction, Mobley scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 21 minutes of play. Cleveland has not only handled rebuilding and bottom-feeding teams, but they have shown up when it counts. Mobley and Garland only introduce more utility for the second half of the regular season campaign.
For every strength Garland and Mobley bring to the rotation, there is a general unease around how both will adapt to the new-look systems. Some criticisms thrown at the Cavs center around the redundancy of two ball-dominant guards in the backcourt and two non-shooting big men in the frontcourt. The Cavaliers will have to answer these questions in the future, making February a crucial month for Bickerstaff.
What does Evan Mobley look like in the new Cavaliers offense?
Mobley's aforementioned near double-double upon his return signals that he has not lost his prowess since receiving arthroscopic knee surgery exactly six weeks earlier. Where the question lies for Mobley offensively is his shot creation and physicality.
As creative as Mobley has been at finding the missed defensive rotation to get an easy dunk or post shot off, he still cannot command a defender's attention on the perimeter and does not absorb contact well on drives, leading to unnecessary turnovers. In Mobley's absence, Dean Wade assumed the role of starting alongside Jarrett Allen. Cleveland's 4-out offense model gave Allen free range to obliterate rivals in the post, and Wade also contributed decently on the boards.
It does not take close examination to see that Mobley is a better offensive player overall than Wade. Wade does, however, offer floor spacing that seems integral to Cleveland's latest successes. All eyes will be on the fit of Mobley and Allen together again, as many will be impatiently awaiting reasons to proclaim there is no possible future where the two can coexist on the same roster.
The Cavaliers have already shown they can achieve a 50-win season with their current frontcourt, but the postseason downfall of the Cavs has caused reasonable doubt. Both Allen and Mobley have shown stark improvement rebounding with both players recording career-high rebounds per game, and each one has had some level of growth from the midrange, albeit Allen's has been much greater.
For what it is worth, Mobley embraced the questions surrounding his shooting after his return game. Inside the locker room after the win, Mobley fielded numerous questions and proudly spoke about rejoining the team. He praised his teammates' efforts over the stretch and opened up about his focus on shooting.
"Definitely been thinking about [shooting more threes]. Definitely on that as well coming into this. Didn't get the chance to shoot many today, but going to keep shooting them and just keep getting better with that."Evan Mobley
Mobley is unlikely going to become an elite shooting big man before the season ends, but the Cavs have realized the value Mobley could bring if he can add that element to his game. Breaking up the star frontcourt may become inevitable either because of fit or finances, but the Cavaliers would be smart to do everything possible to develop Mobley's offensive game beyond where he is now.
Whether or not Mobley and Allen can win in the playoffs is a question the Cavs cannot answer immediately. This concern will have to wait until the tensions are at their highest, but there are reasons to believe they can work, especially given the spacing forwards on the bench who can stagger Mobley's and Allen's minutes.
As for Darius Garland, the question for him centralizes around the other end of the ball.
Will Darius Garland hurt Cleveland's defense too much?
Questions have been raised surrounding Darius Garland's fit in the new-look offense, but his obvious shooting talent and willingness to run off the ball will allow him to adapt quickly into the schemes. Suggesting that Garland and Mitchell are both too ball dominant to work in an offense together ignores how efficient both player was last season. Mitchell achieved multiple career highs, and Garland's numbers barely dipped.
Defensively, though, Garland will be replacing Isaac Okoro in the starting five. Okoro does not need to be the focal point of an offense to influence winning. Okoro is a perimeter-defensive specialist if nothing else, a skillset entirely absent from Garland's repertoire. As the Cavs reclaimed a league-leading defense, Okoro's point-of-attack toughness played a critical role.
The answer to the question remains the same; the rest of the Cavaliers have to mask Garland's deficiencies. Garland's defensive weakness is not going to be solved by more effort. The star point guard never takes a play off in a game, but his undersized stature and lack of strength allows too many opponents to get around him with little resistance.
In the summer, the Cavs added veteran wing Max Strus from the Miami Heat on a four-year $64 million deal to improve Cleveland's shooting and maintain their defense. Strus assumed Okoro's starting role, and while he is not the defender that Okoro is, he has been far better than anticipated. Additionally, Mitchell continues to remind the NBA world that he has a 6-foot 10-inches wingspan despite his 6-foot 3-inches frame. Mitchell's active hands and speed have ripped away rebounds from rivals and intercepted long passes on the arc to create instant baskets in transition.
Last season, Cleveland's answer to an undersized backcourt was their elite defensive stoppers in the paint. This will still be their primary way to overcome Garland's defensive woes, but Mitchell and Strus have improved the Cavs' overall defense enough to subdue some of the difficulties, too. If Mitchell consistently provides his current level of defense, the Cavaliers will be just fine. As long as Garland can funnel his assignment into the middle of the lane where Allen and Mobley are waiting, the Cavs can continue to thrive.
The NBA has never seen an undersized backcourt achieve the greatest feats, but there has to be a first time before there can be a precedent for it. No team had ever won after falling 3-1 in the NBA Finals, either.