The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a very successful regular season in the 2022/23 season after trading for Donovan Mitchell during the offseason and adding him to their young core that had pushed for the playoffs a year prior. Before injuries the Cavs were looking at being a top 4 seed in 2021/22; Cleveland's brass believed it was time to strike to add a high leverage talent such as Spida who was in the prime of his career and could grow alongside the rest of the Cavs squad with an eye on developing into a contender for years to come.
Unquestionably, the trade was a success. Mitchell had the best season of his career; the Cavs ended up with the second best net rating in the NBA and won over 50 games. It was their most successful non-LeBron season in decades. The Cavs ended the season as the top defense in the NBA off the backs of their Twin Towers duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen controlling the paint. Evan Mobley was healthy last season and played 79 games; in two seasons, he has already gained a reputation as a top 10 defender in the NBA. He has also grown as an offensive player over the course of these last two seasons...he has legitimate passing feel and talent and increased his assist rate while cutting down his turnovers. He made a big jump as a finisher in Year 2 and was an elite finisher in the restricted area last season. He's elite inside 8 feet in general and has an array of moves, is cerebral, and has excellent body control along with his terrific length, that enable him to find ways to score in traffic.
However, comfort outside of 8 feet has yet to materialize for Mobley. Anywhere outside of deep floater range and his efficiency takes a significant hit. He's still not much of a self-creator although he has shown flashes and he shot 21% from 3 during the regular season. His lack of self-creation and a 3 ball playing alongside Jarrett Allen ended up sticking out in the playoff, as the Cavs were eliminated in 5 games by the New York Knicks. The Cavs offense couldn't gain traction, as the Knicks were very physical and loaded their defense to make the life of Mitchell and Darius Garland much more difficult. Mobley averaged less than 10 point a game on mediocre efficiency during the Knicks series and the Mobley/Allen pairing didn't aid them as much as it had during the regular season.
I do think a lot of the reaction to the Knicks series regarding the Cavs and their outlook was overblown. Their top 4 players together on court still carried a positive net rating. Mobley/Allen net rating as a duo was OK. The rush to push Allen out the door by some fans didn't really line up with data and didn't make sense. The Cavs front office have been aggressive in seeking improvements but with the mentality of sustainable success and growth. There was no win now mandate last year in Cleveland. But the expectations this year will definitely be higher with the additions they have made during the offseason, including Max Strus and Georges Niang, and their success of the season prior.
For the Cavs to meet those expectations, Evan Mobley will need to take a jump offensively, or this team is never realistically going to win a title as currently constructed. He became more aggressive with the ball in his hands last year but needs to take that another step further this season. I'm expecting and he should be averaging 4+ to 5 FTAs a game. He needs to continue to look to take advantage of mismatches and be more comfortable being willing to take smaller players inside on the block. And at the very least, Mobley needs to be a 30% 3 point shooter.
He can't be a non-threat as a shooter. Because of the handling ability he does possess, teams don't totally leave him open from the outside but he can be seen passing up open 3's and often the Cavs offense isn't spread in the way most teams today are because both of their big men are inside the three point line. The Cavs played at the slowest pace in the NBA last season which is something I think will also have to change if they want to take a jump to title contention level.
The expectations in Cleveland are high, deservedly so. I think they're the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference right now and are closer to the top three (BOS/MIL/MIA) than people think. Miami had a very poor regular season last season and Butler is a year older and has missed substantial time every year recently. They had an exhausting playoff run and depth is questionable. Cleveland finishing with a top 2 seed would not be a surprise. But if they want to win a title in the next few seasons or at least be in the conversation, it is incumbent that Evan Mobley becomes the offensive player that he has the potential to. What do you all think? You think Mobley is have his Year 3 offensive leap this season? If he does, would you consider the Cavs a title contender?
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