Although the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 113-101 on Friday, it’s becoming more and more clear they have a real future.
Rookie big man Evan Mobley continued to flash his potential, and it caught the attention and praise of a certain former Cavs superstar.
LeBron on Evan Mobley: "He's gonna be a damn good basketball player in this league. It's so crazy because he was just playing against my son a couple years ago. It's weird. It's getting more weird by the day."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) October 30, 2021
Mobley, the third overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, has been looking good thus far this season, and he has scouts and others around the league raving about him.
In fact, one former executive seemed to imply that Mobley could become even better than former Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat star Chris Bosh.
Against L.A., Mobley played beyond his years, scoring an efficient 23 points and doing it both inside the paint and from the perimeter. Veteran guard Ricky Rubio also lit it up off the bench, putting up 18 points and four assists.
The Cavs looked to be on their way to victory against the struggling Lakers, as they held an 11-point lead at one point.
However, LeBron James and company stepped up their defense, and Cleveland had trouble finding the basket in the fourth quarter as it started to fall behind by a larger and larger margin.
All told, the Cavs were only able to muster 16 points in the final frame. They finished the contest shooting a dismal 42.5 percent from the field and 68.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Still, with a 3-3 record, Cleveland can hold its head up high and continue to believe in its chances of returning to the NBA playoffs for the first time since James left town.
