Evan Mobley has chance to be more impactful for Cleveland Cavaliers
On any given night, the Cavs have a couple of All-Star guards capable of pouring in 40 points and taking over games. But while the point totals might be lower elsewhere, there’s a third option who Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff sees as having the potential to be the “most impactful player on the floor” on a daily basis.
That distinction belongs to second-year forward Evan Mobley, whose versatility instantly opened up the Cavs’ offense a year ago after being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. But it’s on the defensive end, to an even greater degree, where Mobley has made his mark alongside Jarrett Allen.
This season, Mobley is averaging an identical 15 points per game, just as he did as a rookie, though in a more efficient manner (54 percent shooting this season, 51 percent in 2021-22) along with 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He has often acted as the third option within the Cavs’ offense behind Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, a key piece who gives Cleveland’s attack an extra dimension with his multi-faceted skillset. It’s been somewhat of an eye-opening experience for his teammates to see him so quickly acclimate to the league as a consistent force.
“And it’s crazy, because he’s 21. Like, he hasn’t gotten all his tools together,” Garland said. “Sometimes it still looks like he’s trying to get used to his 7-foot size out there. He’s a unicorn. There’s not a lot of people like him on this planet. It’s cool to just have him as a teammate, for sure.”
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Bickerstaff echoed that sentiment, in that the Cavs believe Mobley “hasn’t even scratched the surface” with the ceiling-high potential he holds.
“When you have that type of footwork and balance, that length and size to still be under control all the time and never get sped up, it’s impressive,” Bickerstaff said. “If you saw some of the stuff he did in practice and in his workouts, that [tool] bag is full.”
Evan Mobley’s defensive ability showing up in metrics
Offensively, Mobley has been a headache for opposing teams. Defensively, he’s likely been in their nightmares.
Mobley is tied for the league lead with 1.3 Defensive Win Shares, a metric that attributes credit for a player’s defensive ability and his impact to the team, along with Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac. He also holds a top-10 ranking (9th) in the NBA with a 105.9 Defensive Rating.
It rests in Mobley’s ability to have such a dynamic impact on both ends of the court on a nightly basis that gives him as much potential to have his presence felt on the floor as anyone else. It’s a conversation the Cavs have had with their sophomore standout, an illustration that sometimes the box score, especially defensively, won’t properly illustrate the impact a player had that night. Similar to a cornerback in the NFL who might not end up with as many interceptions as others because teams simply won’t test his side of the field, Mobley’s mere presence is enough to alter opposing offense’s plans.
Evan Mobley can be ‘that guy’
“Evan has the opportunity to be the most impactful player on the floor every night, no matter what his numbers are or what they say,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s the intangibles. And there’s just the overall impact of his presence of making the right plays at the right time. His two way ability to protect the paint, most of the time when guys see him in there, they don’t even go in there. There’s not a stat for that. When he catches the ball and he makes the hockey assist, they don’t track that in our box scores. His presence in the paint when he’s rolling, people have to go to him, it creates an open opportunity for somebody else. They don’t track that. They don’t put that in the stat sheet.”