Mobley is a cornerstone of the league’s best team, yet the narrative is lacking.
NBA discourse is a league often driven by narratives and storylines through the season more than on-court play. Since Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley was drafted it seemed he was destined for stardom. However, after a disappointing year last season, it appeared he lost the faith of the national media. If you gave the Mobley stat line he produced this season to media members before the season started, I think the reaction would be different than it is right now.
Mobley has matched if not surpassed the hopes that many fans and experts had heading into the current season under Kenny Atkinson. Mobley has been the focus since the Atkinson hire was announced and it was not fluff. Ideas were floated of Mobley becoming an integral part of the offense and a hub for the team. Those have all come to fruition.
He has an increased confidence and assertiveness that we have not consistently seen until this season. It would be a disservice to say Mobley has improved because he is now shooting more than double the attempts from the perimeter (1.2 in last season to 2.8 now on a near 42% clip). There is so much more to this Mobley leap than just shooting more threes. He is truly a different offensive archetype than he has been at any point in his career.
The scouting report on Mobley in the past was that he never fit as a five but didn’t have the floor stretching capabilities of a four. He could be flustered and look like deer in headlights when the first instinct didn’t pan out. Mobley never was great from three or had tenacity when faced with mismatches. There would be occasional games and sequences where you saw a template of what he became this season, but for the most part, that would be scattered amongst a season and not really in succession.
This season Mobley is showing capabilities of floor spacing big who can also play make. A comp to Draymond Green with a higher offensive ceiling might not be too outlandish even if it sounds optimistic right now. Mobley has evolved at such a rapid rate this season that it has completely readjusted what the expectations should be in his career.
Despite this growth, why is the narrative by the league and media members at large weirdly quiet? The Cavaliers own the top record in the entire league and have a five-and-a-half-game advantage in the Eastern Conference. Surely a player as dynamic as Mobley should be in the spotlight seeing how unique of a player he is. Well, apparently there is still disappointment due to one factor, the bare stats.
Mobley’s 18.8 points and 8.7 rebounds to 90% of the league would be a great season. It would especially be based on the fact that he and the Cavaliers have been decimating their opponents for the most part. Especially a team ranked second in the league in point differential (+11.8). The simple math is that Mobley won’t put up the numbers most players do due to the minutes necessary for the Cavaliers starters to play this season. When you are beating opponents convincingly with 10 minutes in the game, why play your starters more than necessary?
To find fault in Mobley’s season due to the counting numbers not matching up with a “great stat line” is criminal and undervaluing Mobley’s accomplishments. For the past few seasons, the Cavaliers’ success was always hinged on what type of player Mobley can become. Now, with a clear vision of what that can be, suddenly it’s become too mundane, and the box score is jumping out enough to find reasons to talk about it anymore. If Mobley was averaging 10 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds you are telling me that would justify some praise? Let’s move past the stat-counting era of how we digest the league and just watch Evan Mobley play the game and tell me how the leap isn’t astonishing.