Watching For Three Of Evan Mobley’s Focuses In Year 3 With Cavs

Entering his third NBA season, Evan Mobley has All-Star aspirations in mind and wants to prove himself and the Cleveland Cavaliers right.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ preseason officially coming to end on Friday night in Indiana and the training camp roster cut deadline set for Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, the beginning of the regular season is mere days away.

There is a ton of fresh energy with new concepts to be curious about, but the Cavs are equally as excited to see the continued growth of their core. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen have much more combined experience than the youngest piece of the bunch, but Evan Mobley has been receiving rave reviews almost daily from everyone in the building.

“It's real nice for the organization, team, players, coaches, and everybody having that confidence in me,” Mobley said. “That gives me confidence as well to go out there and prove to people that I'm gonna be a star and I'm gonna keep going and keep getting better.”

Mobley hasn’t had much of a chance to tell us how he feels about this upcoming third year, though. 

Following Thursday’s practice, he painted a picture of what to look for.

“I feel like it's a lot of rebound and pushing, a lot of playmaking, a lot of face-up game as well,” Mobley said. “Those are the three aspects I've been working on all summer. So I feel like you're gonna see that in a lot of games coming up.”

So far, Mobley has been used as a 5-man with surrounding shooters and at the 4 next to Damian Jones and Tristan Thompson. The Cavs are going to put him in the middle of the floor as a hub for dribble handoffs and trust him when he finds a mismatch to lower his shoulder to create for himself. 

Apr 23, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) drives to the basket during game four of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

They’re also going to give him the freedom to handle the rock a little more to free up Garland and Mitchell.

“What it does is puts people in tougher situations to have to guard those two guys,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Tuesday. “If we get to just stare at you, the big man comes and sees where the ball is, now I can set my defense and get to whatever my coverage is. If I throw the ball to Evan, now the defender has to guard Evan and the guards are doing whatever they do, now they can create an advantage or they can keep it and make the next play.

“I think him touching the ball more will make those guys’ jobs easier and more difficult to guard.”

When a reporter asked Mobley if he believes he could be an NBA All-Star this season, he smirked as if it was a no-brainer. He is extremely confident in what he can bring to the table.

Don’t get it twisted, however: There's plenty to prove to himself.

“I know I can be one of the star players out here,” Mobley said. “So [I'm] just coming out here, trying to stay confident, do what I worked on all summer, complete that task and be the best I can be."