After signing Evan Mobley to a maximum rookie extension this summer, his role as a future cornerstone star on the Cleveland Cavaliers is cemented. The question is whether he will reach that potential.
When Mobley has looked his best, he can make a case for a top 20 player in the NBA. Unfortunately for both Mobley and the Cavs, the realization of his talent is rarely seen. Under J.B. Bickerstaff's offense, the young big man was often relegated to a cutter, screen setter/roller and dunker spot threat. His offensive game is not as varied and flashy as many of his senior peers, but Mobley's usage with Cleveland has hardly improved as his skillset and efficiency has grown.
Last season, Mobley averaged 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds after sustaining two lengthy injuries through the middle of the regular season. He also added a new career high in assists with 3.4 per game and extended his shooting range to beyond the three-point line later in the season, shooting a career-high 37.3 percent on low volume. Although his numbers were not at an All-Star level, Mobley's production in his third season were substantially better. He showed his intelligent passing and court vision and could flash a strong driving game.
Entering his fourth year, Mobley has a lot to prove after his stellar rookie and sophomore campaigns. Injuries held him back during the regular season, but Mobley's playoff star power has earned him hefty recognition. The youngest Cavaliers starter was the second best player on the team throughout the postseason, capping off the run with a career night in TD Garden against the Boston Celtics.
Under Kenny Atkinson, Mobley must take advantage of a newly-designed offense with a coach who has repeatedly acknowledged the need to utilize Mobley's versatility and tap into his potential. While shooting volume and floor spacing has been a hot topic for Mobley's next step, the USC prospect should prioritize an underdeveloped aspect of his game to take a leap towar stardom.
Evan Mobley must be assertive for the Cavaliers
Although Bickerstaff's heliocentric offense could ignore Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the post, Mobley holds blame for a stagnant role, too. His on-court demeanor is quiet at best and occasionally seemingly uncomfortable and uncertain at worst. When Mobley has the ball in his hands in the post, he has not discovered the right rhythm to back down a defender, leading to a frustrating unforced turnover when he lets the ball slip out of his hand on a poorly timed move.
In other moments, Mobley may have a clear opportunity to create his own shot or drive, but he instead immediatley looks to pass. His selfless team-first nature is almost always a major upside for Mobley, but he has not found the balance between knowing when a selfish attempt to score is more beneficial to the team than abdicating the responsibility to someone else.
When Mobley is confident in his role, whether it is as a pick-and-pop shooter or lob finisher, he excels and follows through. But, he falls back into old habits once he falls into a cold streak. If Mobley is going to prove he earned his maximum rookie extension, then he must show greater assertiveness and a consistent mentality this season. Cleveland has committed their future into Mobley now, and it must come with expectations that he will elevate his game.
When head coach Kenny Atkinson described his plan for Mobley, he did not focus on shooting as the primary goal. Instead, Atkinson noted Mobley's high intelligence and ability to facilitate and lead an offense. Atkinson suggested fans could expect to see offensive sets run through the frontcourt rather than always relying on the backcourt guards to lead the show. Atkinson's solution gives Cleveland another route to use Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland as shooters, and it also alleviates some of the Cavs' issues in a clogged paint with Mobley and Allen fighting for positioning.
Atkinson's approach views floor spacing as something beyond a one-dimensional problem. Rather than sitting a big man in the corner to draw a defender away from the basket, Mobley will be actively involved in the offense with the ball in and out of his hands, facilitating from the elbow and mid-range area.
If Mobley can continuously take command of the offense and help orchestrate the gameplan, then he will ultimately reap the rewards. In every season that Allen played under Atkinson with the Brooklyn Nets, he saw steady improvement as a multi-faceted offensive talent.
Evan Mobley's future is in his hands. With an offensive-minded head coach in charge, Mobley must take advantage of every opportunity. The Cleveland Cavaliers organization and Kenny Atkinson know that Evan holds the keys to the future.