Cavaliers' Evan Mobley Is Evolving Before Our Eyes
Evan Mobley was sidelined for almost two months earlier this season with a knee injury. During that time, the Cleveland Cavaliers reshaped their offensive identity to a team that relied heavily on three-point shooting.
This is something that is not part of Mobley's game. To be fair, it's not that Mobley is a bad three-point shooter, he just hasn't consistently taken them through his first two and half NBA seasons to label him as a three-point threat
J.B. Bickerstaff admitted when Mobley returned from injury that the next evolution of his game would be taking and making more three-pointers to help with the team's spacing.
Now, we're seeing all of that come to fruition.
Nov 26, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) shoots in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Mobley has been back for five games and taking more long-range shots has clearly been a focus. He's attempted just over one three-pointer a game and has knocked down 71% (5-7) of them. Mobley made all three of the attempts he took against the Sacramento Kings and both of his threes went down against the Washington Wizards.
Yes, it's an extremely small sample size. But it's still growth for a player who only made 45 through the first two seasons of his career.
Mobley admitted that developing his shot is something that he's working on. "I've been working on that for a while and just try to go out there and shoot them with confidence. They've been dropping recently. So, I'll just keep shooting and keep trusting my work."
It's no secret that the Cavaliers are taking more three-pointers and that blueprint has proven to be a successful model for this team. Mobley doesn't need to attempt four threes a night to be an impactful player on this team. He's an all-NBA defensive player and dynamic in the paint.
However, the evidence that his long-range shot is coming around is proof that he's evolving as a player. That's a scary thought for defenses around the league.
