The Cleveland Cavaliers have waited for a significant offensive leap from Evan Mobley. Subtle improvements over the years have refined him into being an elite two-way player. But that next step was always a question mark.
Would it be developing a mid-range game, or a go-to move around the basket? Or would Mobley step outside the three-point line and become a good enough shooter to open the floor for Cleveland?
Right now, it sounds like the third option.
Mobley has opened the season shooting 12-for-18
from downtown (66%). This is a blistering number that won’t be sustainable throughout 82 games — but it could mark the start of a career-best year.
“I felt it in preseason, leading up to preseason,” said Kenny Atkinson. “There’s a shift in his demeanor… He put in the work. There’s a confidence to him now. It’s raised.”
Mobley took six three-pointers on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards and nailed five of them. He had similar success in Cleveland’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this week, canning 4-of-5 attempts with three of his triples coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
It’s one thing to take a three-pointer as a last resort. It’s another to launch them confidently even when the game is on the line. This is something Mobley began flashing in last season’s playoffs, but has taken to another level to start the year.
“I think last year he’d kind of make 3s with time and space. I feel like this year he’s getting it off quicker. He’s making them with harder contests,” said Atkinson. “We saw it last year in the playoffs too, right? Detroit series, hit some big ones. Toronto series, hit some big ones. When a guy’s in a groove like this, we’ve got to find him a little more.”
Mobley, always nonchalant, says his hot-shooting is simply a result of his work ethic.
“Just confidence,” said Mobley. “The first few went in, so I just kept shooting them. Been working on them for years now. I feel confident in it, and I’m gonna keep shooting them.”
The three-point shot is arguably the most valuable offensive tool a player can add to their game. Especially in the frontcourt. Cleveland has managed for years to navigate the lack of shooting in their frontcourt — but that awkward spacing might not be such a thorn in their side if Mobley can step outside and make defenses pay.
“He’s just putting it all together,” said Jarrett Allen. “It opens the floor up to me. There’s not a lot of people in there, so I can do my work in there.”
Nearly all of Mobley’s three-point attempts have been products of the defense sagging off him. In each of his last two games, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis made a deliberate choice to ignore Mobley in favor of packing the paint. It was on Mobley to punish them for this decision, and he did.
“If they keep playing like that, I’m gonna keep shooting it,” said Mobley. “So, until they close out really hard, I’m gonna just keep letting it fly.”
Still, there’s pressure on Mobley to stick to his greatest strengths as a play-finisher around the basket. He’s spent more time on the perimeter than we’ve grown accustomed to. The increased shooting is great, but the Cavs don’t want Mobley to rely too heavily on it.
“I still want him at the paint, at the rim, just finding that balance,” said Atkinson. “I think [his shooting] opens things up for us. He’s taking timely ones. He’s taking good ones. If he can hit 3s and still be the great defender he is and should be, that could be our next jump.”
There’s a lot of season left and plenty of time for Mobley’s shooting to regress. That said, Mobley has given himself a strong foundation to build on. A full season of Mobley taking and making threes could change everything.
