Mobley showed he can still be a ‘seven-foot unicorn’

Mobley showed what he can do, now it’s about carrying it over to the regular season.

You want to see what you worked on throughout the offseason carry over to an NBA court even if it’s just the preseason. That happened for Evan Mobley as he registered team-highs in both points (19) and shot attempts (14). This is the version of Mobley the Cleveland Cavaliers have been waiting to see. They know he’s their key to contention. And they know he’s a better player than we’ve consistently seen in his first three seasons.

“But I think [with] Evan there’s more to unlock,” Mitchell said. “Ultimately, we have a team that we feel is ready to contend, but we have to unlock everybody in different ways.”

It’s easy to look at the three-point shooting as the barometer for where Mobley needs to improve. It’s true that needs to happen, but going from being someone who takes 1.3 threes per game to someone who can effectively space the floor is a big jump.

Mobley only took two outside shots in 19 minutes Tuesday. That could be a realistic goal this season even though you wouldn’t complain about a slightly higher volume.

“I think [three or four] is a good area for him,” Atkinson said. “But if you get six open ones, that’s good too. . . . I felt like he drove a couple of closeouts where he could have shot the three so he’s going to find that balance.”

The Cavs’ lack of ball handlers with their starting unit has hurt them arguably more than their lack of shooting. There’s only so much you can do if you have more playfinishers than play creators on the floor. Turning Mobley into someone who can do both transforms everything and is how you take an immediate step forward.

“The best teams in the league have multiple ball handlers including a big that can play make,” Atkinson said. “He’s a playmaker to me.”

Mobley didn’t play make as a passer on Tuesday. It did however show through in how he was able to create for himself.

Four of Mobley’s nine field-goal makes were unassisted. That’s a noticeable step up from the last two seasons where three-quarters of his makes were assisted. This is where the aggression and willingness to attack are most evident. It’s worth noting that all four of these makes came with him facing up to the basket first which isn’t something he’s done very often.

This is only possible when he’s playing aggressively. Mobley knows this. He didn’t hesitate when asked whether he could keep this up throughout a whole season.

“Oh yeah for sure,” Mobley said. “Just gotta keep attacking, keep getting more and more aggressive. Seeing where I can attack from and playing that way throughout the season.”

He also mentioned that there are other areas he can keep attacking including the three-point shot, isolations, and switches. Expanding how he scores is important because it opens up the offense for everyone else. Teams will have to send more help if he’s continually facing up and taking defenders off the dribble as he did against the Chicago Bulls.

“It opens up a lot of open threes for us,” Darius Garland said. “When he’s aggressive it’s pretty hard to stop. A seven-foot unicorn like that is pretty different.”

There was a time when Mobley was thought of as a seven-foot unicorn who could be a modern-day version of Tim Duncan. Guys like Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama have surpassed Mobley in those conversations and rightfully so. Mobley’s lack of offensive development is to blame for that. But the skills that made people think that was possible are still there in the 23-year-old. Playing aggressively is the only way for him and the team to make the leap forward. It’s also a part of the maturation process.

“That’s just a part of being a young player in the league,” Mitchell said. “You start to develop and get to who you want to be. I think . . . him continuing to be aggressive, not necessarily just a scoring thing, but just aggressive-minded to create another advantage [for us]. Now you got three guys in the starting lineup who are just going downhill, attack, and find ways to get into the paint, create. That’s what’s going to help take us to the next level.”