It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers entered the season with high expectations for their 24-year-old star. Fresh off his first All-NBA selection and winning Defensive Player of the Year, Evan Mobley is being tasked with becoming an offensive focal point. That’s led to some moments of trial and error.
“He wants to be great so bad,” Atkinson said. “And sometimes he’s a little bit forcing the issue in that sense, which is not the worst, you want him to be aggressive, but you know he’s eventually
gonna find what it looks like, what that flow looks like, and we just haven’t hit it yet.”
Mobley’s usage has increased to a career-high to start the season. He’s had moments where that usage looks natural. And other games where it feels like Mobley is trying to play like a totally new player. Threading the needle and finding the perfect balance is something that could take more than the first few weeks of the season.
Much of this comes down to finding Mobley’s sweet spots. Where does he feel most comfortable scoring the ball? Which lineups are going to put Mobley into the best position for success? That’s all part of the process.
“Get him at the elbow a little more, get him in the mid-post, get him at the rim,” Atkinson answered when asked about where the Cavs can improve Mobley’s shot diet. “I love them in transition, handling the ball, we love that he can get the ball off the board more, offensive board, the offensive rebounding numbers are a little down… But again, we’ve had DG out, we’ve had him with a lot of young guys… So we just got to find that balance between inside and outside.”
Mobley scored 22 points in his most recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Nearly half of those came in the fourth quarter when Mobley and Donovan Mitchell took over the game. Atkinson says this is the luxury of having star players who can rely on their raw talent even when the process is still a work in progress.
“Last game in the fourth quarter, him and Donovan took over,” Atkinson said. “And that’s why he’s an All-Star.”
