Last season, Evan Mobley earned an All-Star nod and was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The Cavs are pushing him for an encore season.
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have been yelling from the rooftops for years what they think Evan Mobley can become.
He took a massive step toward those aspirations last season, when at 23 years old he was named an All-Star, won NBA Defensive Player of the Year and arguably broke through as a top-20 player in the league.
The runway exists for more growth on the offensive end, especially as the season is set to begin Oct. 22 against the Knicks in New York and the Cavs will be without All-Star guard Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot).
Even though he's still only 24, the expectations are sky high within the organization for the former No. 3 overall pick. It's particularly because those in locker room see that potential might not be too far off, and there's still more to grasp.
"I don't want to put all this expectation on him but, at the same time, I do want to put the expectation on him," Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said. "He's dominant. He's going out there, he's a beast, he's confident. When you believe, when you work so hard, the game comes easy when you believe you're this and that. And I think it just takes year by year, and you're seeing it."
In the Cavs' 64-win season a year ago, Mobley upped his usage and finished averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 55.7% shooting from the floor. He also finished 10th in MVP voting and was named All-NBA Second Team.
The defensive accolades followed, and he's now well established as an elite defender in the paint. Offensively, the Cavs are pushing him into even more usage, particularly early in the year with Garland and Strus both out.
"Yeah, I mean, you see with DG [out], he's upped his usage. I think it's way up," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "I think it was around 20-21 percent, and I saw he's around 29-30. He's really high usage. It's on purpose."
Cavs want to run offense more through Evan Mobley
It doesn't only mean ensuring the ball goes through Mobley more often, it also means allowing him the freedom to act as a creator with the ball in his hands.
It's something they emphasized during their four preseason games.
"We need him to create for us," Atkinson said. "With DG out, Don can't just be creating everything and, listen, when you go up that high in usage, there's going to be some growing pains, right? But I loved that he was aggressive [in the Cavs' final preseason game], and he's going to keep handling it."
Those in the front office and the locker room alike have tried to remember Mobley is still not much older than some of the rookies being drafted into the league. At the same time, the Cavs know they have a tremendous window of opportunity in front of them, and Mobley's ascension has always been a main factor in those goals.
"It's a balance," Mitchell said. "You gotta understand that he's not going to come out and be perfect. He may come out and have a great stretch, may come out and have a bad stretch. It's just the ebbs and flows of it, right? And for me, you're always gonna challenge your team. I'm always gonna challenge him to best the best but, in the same token, you gotta have grace, too."
In the past, the Cavs have been thrilled whenever Mobley has voiced a bit of moxie. He's soft-spoken by nature, and they don't mind if he lets his play do the talking for him. But they want the aggressiveness and the confidence.
At the team's media day in late September, he hinted at it but kept some things close to the vest.
"My individual goals are definitely All-Star again. Hopefully keep the Defensive Player of the Year as well," Mobley said. "And then from there, I'm gonna keep that a secret now."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs eager to see how Evan Mobley follows up All-Star, DPOY season
Category: General Sports
