Evan Mobley is reaching his potential, and now so are the Cleveland Cavaliers

of cleveland cavaliers Lost to eventual NBA champion boston celtics They were 4-1 in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals, a series in which the Cavaliers had no realistic prospects of actually winning.

They lost Jarrett Allen in the postseason after suffering a broken rib in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic. Donovan Mitchell suffered a calf strain in the fourth quarter of Game 3 against the Celtics and will miss the rest of the series, and Darius Garland returns from a 15-game loss with a broken jaw. After that, he was never able to play up to his standards. Mid-season pound.

However, despite the loss, there was one bright spot for the Cavaliers. It was a play from third-year big man Evan Mobley.

Mobley, who was the only player on the floor in the series against the Celtics, averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 62.7 percent from the floor in those five games.

There was never any question of what Mobley could do defensively. Brock's victory over Franz Wagner in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Magic is the epitome of the impact he has on that end of the floor every night.

But this? This was something completely different.

Mobley was a legitimate difference-maker on offense. He was too fast for bigger players to guard and punished smaller players who tried to stop him near the basket. He made plays when his teammates were in position to score. He handled the ball even more and started attacking!

He blossomed before our eyes and I felt like his offensive impact was catching up to his defensive impact. Even in a loss, if the Cavaliers can consistently get that kind of production and aggression out of him going forward, it felt like they found a way to become a real threat in the Eastern Conference.

With that in mind, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired JB Bickerstaff in the offseason and hired Kenny Atkinson as their new head coach. Bickerstaff wasn't doing it. bad Work; Under his coach, the Cavaliers reached the postseason every season, but he was never able to get the most out of the team offensively.

Atkinson was the obvious choice to lead a team featuring four All-Star-caliber young players to the next level. His reputation as a creative attacking mind who promoted ball and player movement was the perfect antidote to the stagnant offense that had become overly reliant on individual player heroics under Bickerstaff. There is also.

But what really made him the perfect hire was his proven track record of player development. He got the best out of young players at every stop, including current Cavaliers Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen when they were teammates. brooklyn nets. If there's anyone who can get the most out of Evan Mobley this season, it's Atkinson.

That brings us to the present. There, the Cleveland Cavaliers set a franchise record of 13-0 (and still standing) and have the best offense in the entire NBA. Meanwhile, Evan Mobley is playing the best and most inspired basketball of his young career.

Talk about absolutely successful hiring.

Atkinson turned the Cavaliers into an offensive juggernaut capable of attacking opponents to the point where games were essentially over at halftime. He also led this scoring renaissance while maintaining the solid defensive identity the Cavaliers had established under Bickerstaff.

His most notable accomplishment to date is finally unlocking the potential of Evan Mobley.

Through 13 games, Mobley is averaging a career-low 30.4 minutes per game and a career-high 17.8 points. He did this on a career-high 23.8 percent shooting while maintaining a true shooting percentage of 62.1 percent, just down from his career-best 62.6 percent from last season.

Mobley scored 23 points or more four times in 50 games with the Cavaliers last season. It already took him 11 games this season to match that total. He's on track to surpass that number this season, but that's the most off-putting part of his game this season: the way he looks.

There are statistics you can look up and list that will tell you how well Mobley has played this season, but to assess his growth you have to actually sit down and watch him play.

When Mobley has the ball in his hands, he plays freely and without fear. The lack of physical strength that made him hesitant to attack has been resolved, and he is now actively attacking without being denied defense. For the first time, there's a feeling of believing that no matter who on the other team is resisting, you can get in your spot and go get the bucket.

Several times this season, the only appropriate reaction to his play was, “Since when can he do that?”

In the clip above, Mobley attacks Draymond Green, Brook Lopez, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and scores. What stands out most is how comfortable he looks. His confidence with the ball in his hands has never been higher. He's bringing the ball up the court himself and finding his shots more now than he has in the past three seasons combined.

But while there are plenty of signs of progress that Mobley is figuring it out offensively, he's still far from a finished product.

His increased usage also led to increased sales. His ball-handling skills still need polishing, as he is easily picked off by defenders. Mobley has worked hard to improve his jump shot this offseason, but he's not quite there yet. He's only shooting 33 percent from 3-point range this season and needs to increase his 3-point shooting percentage to at least 1.6 per game.

Even though there are areas of his game that need more refinement, the progress Evan Mobley has made as an offensive player remains undeniable. While sharing the floor with three other All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, he managed to expand the offense and help propel the undefeated Cavaliers into a new stratosphere as a franchise. did.

Kenny Atkinson spoke candidly about letting Evan Mobley shoot more and play more this season. He wanted to hand over the keys to Mobley and show everyone what a special player he is.

Thirteen games into the 2024-2025 NBA season, it's clear that Evan Mobley is taking a leap forward, and everyone is watching and waiting to see how far he and the Cleveland Cavaliers can go. .