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Evan Mobley: 2023 All Defensive 1st Team

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Is Evan Mobley the Greatest Player of All Time?

  • Yes

    Votes: 48 39.0%
  • Yes

    Votes: 21 17.1%
  • Yes

    Votes: 7 5.7%
  • YAAASSS!!!

    Votes: 36 29.3%
  • Jim Chones

    Votes: 25 20.3%

  • Total voters
    123
There was a moment when Evan got fouled and someone from the Hawks, I think it was Collins, was upset at the call. He was letting the refs hear about it while Evan was about to shoot free throws, and from how I understood it, basically saying that Evan wasn’t strong enough to get the foul call he did.

Unexpectedly, Evan looked right at Collins and jawed right to him before taking his shots. It was the first time I saw some real fire out of Ev and I loved it. More aggression and start putting some more fear in the opponents please! If he ever gets that KG physiological edge on the other team, look out.
Was this one of the two different times where Collins flopped on the spin move? They were such obvious flops, Evan can't move anyone like that if he's played straight up. Refs aren't going to buy that BS.
 
Was this one of the two different times where Collins flopped on the spin move? They were such obvious flops, Evan can't move anyone like that if he's played straight up. Refs aren't going to buy that BS.


Honestly I can't remember, but it might have been. I agree though, that those flops were laughably bad out of Collins.
 
How are we feeling about his offense this year? When he keeps it simple and his dribbles to 3 at most, he has done pretty well. But when he starts dribbling a bunch or even when he brings the ball up the court, it usually leads to something bad happening.

He's not a bad offensive player, but I don't see the "unicorn" that he gets called...at least not on offense. He has shot less 3s per game this year. His handle is still bad after 2-3 dribbles.

He's Still so young. I still have a lot of hope that he'll end up like some concoction of KG/Duncan/Giannis... But for now, I'm disappointed in his lack of growth offensively this year. The 3 ball and his handle are the 2 biggest skills he needs to improve to reach superstardom... Neither got any better.
 
How are we feeling about his offense this year? When he keeps it simple and his dribbles to 3 at most, he has done pretty well. But when he starts dribbling a bunch or even when he brings the ball up the court, it usually leads to something bad happening.

He's not a bad offensive player, but I don't see the "unicorn" that he gets called...at least not on offense. He has shot less 3s per game this year. His handle is still bad after 2-3 dribbles.

He's Still so young. I still have a lot of hope that he'll end up like some concoction of KG/Duncan/Giannis... But for now, I'm disappointed in his lack of growth offensively this year. The 3 ball and his handle are the 2 biggest skills he needs to improve to reach superstardom... Neither got any better.
Just be patient, give it time, and watch it happen. He plays within himself and he takes what is there usually without forcing things in the flow of the game.

I think Evan's offensive game is going to slowly bloom, one beautiful petal at a time, until we'll be looking at an incredible fully formed flower of a game.

Trying to rush or force anything would be a huge mistake. This team doesn't need for Evan to force anything. We have enough weapons to carry us, and let Mobley eat when the table is set for him. He'll develop organically into something special and unique to the league. He might not be a fully formed unicorn right now. But he is a unicorn in terms of potential and ceiling, with a the highest possible percentage chance of achieving or over-achieving anything you can imagine.
 
One thing Mobley's incorporating more in the half court during the last few games:
The spin move to the basket.

Evan did it multiple times against the Hawks (John Collins) and Blazers.

He gains a ton of ground that way. It hasn't always translated to buckets, but he has gotten fouled on it a few times. I think this could be a big time move for him with more refinement. Last year, his turn around midrange jumper was money and this feels like the next step with the spin.

Mobley's putting together an assortment of moves which is going to serve him and the team quite well. There will be stumbles along the way, but I really think he will hone it to the point where it's going to be a major problem for teams. His unbelievable footwork mixed with long ass strides is quite the foundation.

Love watching his development!
 
I’m tempering my enthusiasm for his offensive development at this point.

Just wish he had a little more Bol Bol in his game…
 
So far this season, Mobley has a -20.6 On-Off. We are 1.4 points per 100 possessions better on offense with him off the floor, and we’re 19.2 points per 100 possessions better on defense with him off the floor.

We’re almost a quarter of the way through the season now. That should not be happening. A big part of it is terrible opponent shooting luck that works against him. Opponents are shooting 25.8% from three when Mobley is off the floor. And 40.9% from three when Mobley is on the floor. But even if you substituted those shooting percentages with the Cavs’ average opponent 3P% - 36.1% - the Cavs would still be posting a 104.8 DRTG with Mobley off the floor and a 107.4 DRTG with him on the floor. Math doesn’t work out quite that way because of more offensive rebounds and second chance points after more missed threes, but that would actually only expand that gap in DRTG and make Mobley’s on-off look worse.

Something needs to be fixed with the lineups. Being worse on offense with Mobley in the game (versus a guy like Love or Wade at the floor) makes sense and is acceptable for now but we shouldn’t be significantly worse on defense with Mobley in the game versus out of it. We even have a not very good 113.3 DRTG with both Mobley and Allen in. Again, that shouldn’t be happening with two rim protectors on the floor shutting off the paint.
 
So far this season, Mobley has a -20.6 On-Off. We are 1.4 points per 100 possessions better on offense with him off the floor, and we’re 19.2 points per 100 possessions better on defense with him off the floor.

We’re almost a quarter of the way through the season now. That should not be happening. A big part of it is terrible opponent shooting luck that works against him. Opponents are shooting 25.8% from three when Mobley is off the floor. And 40.9% from three when Mobley is on the floor. But even if you substituted those shooting percentages with the Cavs’ average opponent 3P% - 36.1% - the Cavs would still be posting a 104.8 DRTG with Mobley off the floor and a 107.4 DRTG with him on the floor. Math doesn’t work out quite that way because of more offensive rebounds and second chance points after more missed threes, but that would actually only expand that gap in DRTG and make Mobley’s on-off look worse.

Something needs to be fixed with the lineups. Being worse on offense with Mobley in the game (versus a guy like Love or Wade at the floor) makes sense and is acceptable for now but we shouldn’t be significantly worse on defense with Mobley in the game versus out of it. We even have a not very good 113.3 DRTG with both Mobley and Allen in. Again, that shouldn’t be happening with two rim protectors on the floor shutting off the paint.
What is puzzling to me is...there are times he actually looks embarassing on offense. He must be showing more progress in practice/offseason.

To his credit...he seems to be rebounding better. There is no excuse for a 7 footer getting the minutes he is getting to not snag 10 boards, especially at his age.

I am far more harsh on him than most on this forum. I do not get off on critiquing our budding franchise player. In fact, I am waiting for him to have a breakout 30-40 point game. In year 2- we should see 2-3 of those games this year.

All that being said- he has a very high floor. He is basically a lock to be an effective starter the rest of his career.
 
I’m tempering my enthusiasm for his offensive development at this point.

Just wish he had a little more Bol Bol in his game…
He’s still so young and raw. Frankly he may never reach his full offensive potential with the Cavs. This is a guard dominant/ 3 pt shooting team who occasionally feeds the post.
Mobley’s place and game have not yet been defined within this offense, and that’s ok. We’re only 18 games into his 2nd season at 21 years old.
They just need an efficient 16 or so pts a night from him and figure out WTF is going on with the defensive end.
As stated above, he has a very high floor.
 
The challenge for tall guys in the NBA is that they are now playing against for the first time many other tall guys. It takes time to develop offensive skills when you just don't tower above everyone else on the court. I expect he will just slowly add moves and shots each year while adding some strength and as he does, he will become a nightmare to defend.
 
the game just needs to slow down for him on offense, will come in time

For sure. I think he plays a little frantic/nervous/skittish/thinking-too-much on offense when the instinctual basketball play is not obvious, or he is asked to iso/create.

When he recognizes the right play right away it's v nice, be that a touch pass or a creating a shot with one move and a dribble or two.

As opposed to defensively, he can play off his (superb) defensive instincts.

A bit of added mass/strength would help him dribble, lot of times he loses it because he's being bodied. That will come with time. Also not dribbling six feet high in the air.

If I had to pick one thing for him to be better at it would be shooting the 3 though, that would open up the game so much for him, and this team. On this team I couldn't care less if Mobley is a isolation shot maker and struggles to dribble more than three times. It would be a nice luxury but even Mobley playing within himself, be that simple one-move shooting or acting as an offensive hub when needed, is enough.
 
One thing with ORTG, DRTG. We need to make sure we recalibrate what we think of as a good value for those relative to the rest of the league. League average ORTG has been rising rapidly, to the point a bottom 10 ORTG this season would be top 10 about 4-5 years ago and all-time level 10 years ago. 110 ORTG is pretty meh, unless you are the 2023 Los Angles Lakers
 

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