As Charlotte Hornets’ guard Terry Rozier grabbed the offensive rebound, dribbled once and jumped to release the ball for a layup, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley ran towards the basket and grabbed the ball out of mid-air. He landed in bounds and passed the ball back to Darius Garland to get out in transition.
The emphatic block shocked Donovan Mitchell, who stood up on the bench and put his hands on his head in disbelief. It was just one of the individual moments that stood out in Mobley’s sophomore season.
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— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 2, 2023
While the Cavaliers’ 2022-23 season came to a disappointing end with a first-round exit in the playoffs, there is still much to discuss as a whole in terms of individual players. Over the course of the offseason, we’ll look back at players’ performances this season and what we can expect from them next year.
Up first: Evan Mobley.
A year in review
Mobley saw several incremental improvements in his second year in the league. The young phenom embraced the importance of his role on the Cavaliers, and found ways to be a bit more vocal on the court, especially as one of Cleveland’s defensive anchors. There was an added level of understanding of the league, paired with his talent, that allowed Mobley to succeed on the floor.
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Whether it was showstopping dunks or blocks, Mobley’s second season was filled with moments that highlighted his impact on both ends of the floor. He grew his overall offensive presence and continued to help dominate defensively by protecting the paint.
“Evan has really transformed this franchise in terms of winning,” Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in late April.
In his second season, Mobley was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, and also was named to the 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive First Team. He’s the second-youngest player in NBA history to be named to an All-Defensive First Team.
Mobley was tied for fourth in the league in overall contested shots per game during the regular season with 11.3 per game. He also averaged 1.8 deflections per game, helping to break up passes on the defensive end of the floor.
During the regular season, when Mobley was on the floor, the Cavs had a defensive rating of 109.0; when he was on the bench, it was 106.1. But that doesn’t paint the full picture, as Mobley played alongside another solid defensive big in Jarrett Allen, as well as other defensive players. The Cavs were better defending the rim with Mobley on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass. With Mobley on the court, the Cavs defended 61 percent of the shots at the rim, and were -4.6 percent worse at defending the rim when he was off the floor.
“Evan elevated his game to become a top-three defensive player of the year finalist,” Altman said. “If you ask me, he was No. 1 — when you can guard one through five at his position and do what he did, taking away nothing from the other two are really good.”
On the other end of the floor, the Cavs had an offensive rating of 115.5 when Mobley was on the floor, and 110.8 when he was on the bench. He finished the 2022-23 season with a career high in points per game, averaging 16.2 points. He shot 55.4 percent from the field and 21.6 percent from 3. He also averaged a career-high nine rebounds per game, as well as 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
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While it took Mobley a bit of time to adjust to two ball-dominant guards and learn how to pick his spots, he was aggressive in attacking the lane and also getting to the free-throw line, notably in the second half of the regular season. Mobley and Allen continued to build their connection on both ends of the floor, relying on one another to defend the paint and the rim, and then finding one another inside the paint.
But in the postseason, Mobley’s physicality was exposed. The 21-year-old forward averaged just 9.8 points over five playoff games, shooting 45.8 percent from the field. He also registered seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He noted how the physicality picked up, how the games are called and the dynamic of the playoffs. And that’s what coach J.B. Bickerstaff hoped Mobley would take away from his first playoff experience.
“It’s just not easy to win playoff basketball,” Bickerstaff said following the loss of Game 5. “Every small thing that you do now matters from a simple thing of where you catch the ball in your offense, where you let your opponent catch the ball, where a mistake in a pick-and-roll coverage, what it can lean to. I think the details are so important and you look at whether it’s individual players that are great, you look at teams that have been great, they’ve been great at the fundamentals of the game. And when the games are as physical as they’re going to be and as intense as they’re going to be, those small things make a big difference.”
What’s next in Year 3?
Bickerstaff said last September during training camp that he believed Mobley’s skill set and tools could help take the Cavs to the next level. That sentiment will continue to ring true next season.
There is another level that Mobley can take his game to, especially from a physical standpoint. While he took strides this season in handling the physicality and fighting through contact — like when he faced off against Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid on March 15 or Washington’s Kristaps Porziņģis on March 17— he wants to continue improving in that area. He plans to be in the weight room even more so this summer, and is investing in a home gym to help him do so.
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Outside of adding some muscle, Mobley’s offensive evolution will be important in his third season. His 3-point game is an area that can continue to improve. It’s been a point of emphasis over his first two seasons in the league, and he has worked on it with the coaching staff to improve. That work didn’t translate as he had hoped. Mobley had a handful of games where he displayed confidence in his shot and knocked 3s down — like when he shot 2 of 4 from 3-point range against Chicago on Feb. 11, and 2 of 4 from 3 against Denver on Feb. 23 — but many others where he passed up open looks.
Mobley knows growing his offensive game will be an area of focus entering Year 3.
“Just staying more aggressive throughout the whole game,” Mobley said during his exit interview. “Just getting to my spots and shooting every ball with confidence and that’s really my main focus right now.”
If he can continue his progression with his 3-pointer, it not only would help the Cavs create more spacing on the floor, but it also expands his game and allows Cleveland to bolster its offense.
“Our real upside is going to be the diversification of our offense through Evan Mobley, who’s 21 years old and just scratching the surface of how good he can be,” Altman said last month. “He’s going to be an offensive weapon. He’s going to be a hub. He’s going to be a dude that we’re going to ask to rebound and push the ball and get us easy buckets in the transition. He’s just getting started. There’s a physical maturation that you’re just not going to have at 21, that at 25 he’s going to be vastly different. His growth has been exponential this year and it’s only going to get better.”
Another logical step in Mobley’s progression would be an All-Star nod next season. It will continue to be a tough race at his position for the recognition, but if Mobley continues to take the steps forward that are necessary for his individual growth and the Cavs as a whole, he could find himself in that conversation.
(Top photo of Mobley: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)