The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a surprisingly strong start to the season and are particularly pleased with their defense. For once, this is primarily due to a rookie – Evan Mobley once again stands out from an already exciting year.
There are rookie years in which it takes a lot of time to estimate how many players will play a role in the league over the long term and what role that will be. This is no surprise either: the players are more and more only completing one year at college, and in recent years the pandemic has made it difficult to arrive.
It is therefore advisable to give the players time, the 2020 vintage illustrates this need quite well, with a few exceptions such as LaMelo Ball in particular. And that makes it all the more remarkable that the current vintage seems to be taking so little time.
Two of the first seven picks have not yet played, including # 1 pick Cade Cunningham, who was rated the most “NBA-ready” by all observers. It is already clear that the Pistons rookie has some catching up to do compared to the rest of the year.
at SPOX The Rookie Watch is coming back soon, so we don’t deal with every newcomer in detail, but the following has already been noticed:
- Josh Giddey is the youngest player in NBA history to have 10 assists in one game after LeBron James. Seems relevant, even if his team isn’t.
- Jalen Green broke the Rockets’ rookie record with eight threesomes in his third NBA game.
- Scottie Barnes put on 25 points and 13 rebounds in his second NBA game and acted like the new boss in Toronto in several games.
- Franz Wagner inspires Magic with his game intelligence, also defensively, and scores much better than expected (13.6 points at 51.9 percent FG and 41.7 percent 3FG). For the moment he seems more arrived than No. 4 pick Jalen Suggs, who has also had his moments.
- Chris Duarte scored 27 points on his NBA debut, more than any Pacers rookie before him.
And then there’s Evan Mobley, one of the driving forces behind one of the bigger surprises at the start of the season. Not least because of the # 3 pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers have won three of their five games so far, against legitimate teams. The “gray mouse” has already celebrated victories against the Hawks, the Nuggets and the Clippers.
The Cavaliers start three towers
Cleveland opens games with a starting five, which is somewhat confused: In addition to two small guards (Darius Garland and Collin Sexton), two legitimate 7-footers (Lauri Markkanen and Mobley) and Jarrett Allen, who officially start at 6-11 (2, 11m) and with its imposing head of hair looks at least 2.50m.
The Cavs focus on length, and not just in short segments. The lineup with the second-most minutes to date is simply replaced by Garland by Ricky Rubio, the three giants stand together on the court for 17 minutes per game. Kevin Love is another nominal Big Man from the bench, Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff uses the oversupply as a Strength of his team.
So far, this has worked surprisingly well, because the defense is in full swing, Cleveland currently has the ninth-best defensive rating of the NBA. And that’s in large part due to Mobley. The youngest player in the squad is often the one who holds everything together, and that in completely different roles.
Evan Mobley: Any role fits
Mobley acts nominally as a power forward, in reality his role changes several times per game. He shines as a secondary ring protector (so far 2 blocks per game) next to Allen, who also started excellently, he manages to stay in front of the guards in pick’n’roll, even if they are called, for example, Trae Young. It is almost ridiculously long and yet so agile that it can rush up from the Weakside and iron out the mistakes of its teammates.
His highlight tape against the clippers was particularly impressive, but it wasn’t the first time. Against the Hawks, for example, Mobley sometimes played at the top in a 3-2 zone, in which he simultaneously acted as a ring protector at the bottom several times. It was simply everywhere and so far – apart from the power perhaps – has revealed astonishingly few gaps.
“The position he plays in the zone is not easy,” said Bickerstaff. “You have to be the quarterback in front and at the same time notice what is happening behind you. It is unusual for young players to be able to implement that directly. He has earned our trust very quickly. It is almost unfair what we ask of him, but he just does it. “
Evan Mobley is already a defensive game changer
The latter in particular should not be underestimated, as rookie bigs are relatively seldom able to defensively not only deliver highlight plays, but also read the game correctly and avoid mistakes. Jaren Jackson Jr. comes to mind, another player with seemingly limitless defensive potential who committed so many fouls in his early years in the NBA that he was barely able to realize that potential.
Jackson made 7 fouls per 100 possession of the ball over his career, at Mobley it was a very gratifying 4.1 so far. He can already exert a great influence and thus contributes to the fact that the comic line-up of the Cavs can actually defend. Markkanen in particular benefits from the rookie: If the Finnsher is on the court without Mobley, the Cavs have a defensive rating of 122, which a team like Miami would probably achieve with only four players. With Mobley: 103.9. That’s very good.
And that’s how it runs through the squad. The sample is of course still very small, but as of now Cleveland allows 111.8 opposing points in the minutes without Mobley, and only 102.4 with him. This is a great start considering it should only get safer over time.
Evan Mobley: Offensive, the potential flashes
The first results are also promising offensively. So far he only hits the basket efficiently, but the throwing motion looks solid and over time he should also feel more comfortable with the three (so far only four attempts). He has a good touch and a few moves in the post, even if the lack of strength comes into play here more often.
He’s a very good passer for a Big Man and benefits from his understanding of the game here too. He also doesn’t take much, which Bickerstaff emphasized positively. “The longer you leave him on the court, the more good things happen. And you don’t have to do a lot to get him involved. You don’t have to paralyze your offense to isolate him.”
The Cavs currently have a few options for scoring anyway, with seven players on average over 10 points over the first few games. Mobley doesn’t have to support the surprisingly variable team offensively, he can grow into his role as NBA scorer. If he continues to defend like this, Cleveland will give him every chance one way or another. In a team with an army of bigs, it is already clear who will be the most important of all in the long term.
Evan Mobley: His stats in the NBA
| Games | Points | eFG% | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Assists | Offensiv-Rating | Defensiv-Rating |
| 5 | 13,8 | 50 | 8,6 | 2 | 1,2 | 2,2 | 103,9 | 102,4 |
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