In an ideal world, Evan Mobley would have hit the ground running and catapulted the Cleveland Cavaliers into the 2025-26 NBA season with authority. A red-hot start for a title-contending team and a dark-horse MVP candidate.
We aren’t in that world.
Mobley and the Cavs are searching for stability after a rocky 9-5 start to the season. His efficiency has plummeted, and his performances have been spotty. It’s been good. It’s been bad, and it’s been ugly. But this is all part of the journey.
“It’s not easy,”
Donovan Mitchell said about Mobley’s path to becoming a high-volume player. “You guys are seeing his development in real time, and the development isn’t a straight shot… what you’re seeing is all part of the ebbs and flows.”
It’s not like the Cavs manufactured Mobley’s stardom. He’s a legit All-NBA talent who averaged an efficient 18 points as the third option last season. Another offensive leap for the 24-year-old is anything but far-fetched. That’s why they’ve made him such a focal point of the early season. Now is the time to squeeze Mobley for all of the potential he’s got.
This has led to a push and pull. Sometimes he’s doing too much. Other times, he’s not doing enough. One night, the confidence Mobley has in his jumper feels almost delusional. Next, it’s as if he has no confidence at all. Sometimes he’s making everything. Sometimes he’s missing it all. This is how you grow. The Cavs are trying to find the right approach.
“It’s been a little bit of throw ‘Evan the ball and go get a bucket’,” said Kenny Atkinson. “But Evan is better in mobility, moving off-ball screen or in a pick-and-roll, so that’s something we gotta iron out.”
The Cavs will likely spend all season tinkering with Mobley’s usage. An extra dribble-hand-off here or there. A post-up opportunity against a smaller defender. Running in transition after a live-rebound. Taking a three-pointer off the bounce. All of these actions serve as valuable reps — because when Mobley gets to the playoffs, the Cavs want to know which actions he liked best.
This is trial and error. This is finding out how much responsibility Mobley can handle and which actions are best suited for feeding him. He’ll have nights where he fails. But if he sticks to it, with stubborn determination, Mobley will get to where he needs to be — and he’ll take the whole team with him.
That’s why a night like Thursday against the Raptors can’t happen. Only seven shot attempts in 35 minutes when the team desperately needed his scoring. It’s significantly worse for Mobley to disappear from the offense than for him to be too involved. There is a balance that Mobley and the Cavs have to find. But I can assure you, the scale is closer to him being a volume scorer than a non-factor.
The truth is, the Cavs need him to press the issue. Mobley has to take shots he’s uncomfortable taking. He has to demand that a large chunk of the offense runs through him. He’s too talented and too important to this team’s ceiling for him to shy away from this role. Mobley had been averaging 21 points on a 53% shooting in the six previous games before his stinker versus Toronto.
“The ball finds energy,” said Atkinson. “We could do a better job getting [Evan] the ball, I know we tried to run a few ATOs that [Toronto] blew up… so, yeah, we gotta do better.”
Mobley did better on Saturday night against Memphis. After spending the first three quarters in a similar funk, he finally snapped to life and dominated the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter. He fueled himself with a three-pointer before forcing his way into the paint to build even more confidence. One big play stacked after another, and suddenly, Mobley was up to 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.
That’s more like it.
“Every year isn’t the same,” Mobley said after the win over Memphis. “We’re gonna work through the changes and get better every day. These changes are gonna make us better.”
The Cavs don’t need Mobley to do it all on his own. Mitchell has proven he can lead the team in scoring and close games. It was Mitchell who finished the Grizzlies in the closing minutes after Mobley sparked the initial run. So, Mobley might not be the 1A, but he has to be the 1B on a nightly basis. He certainly can’t disappear like he did versus Toronto — and he made up for it by coming up clutch against the Grizz.
Maintaining belief when things are going wrong is the hardest part of getting through adversity. You can tell yourself that you’re prepared to weather the storm. But holding out hope and trusting that the clouds will pass is an entirely different story. It takes determination. You have to be stubborn. So far, Mobley is sticking to the path. We’ll see how long it takes for it to pay off.
