The Cleveland Cavaliers seem like they’re ready to make some noise in the playoffs this season, and big man Evan Mobley recently said that he believes he can play 48 minutes in a game if need be in the postseason.
“I think I can play all 48,” Mobley said. “I’m pretty young and have a young body. Every game is just to keep fine tuning everything in my game. Whether that’s shooting or my body, making sure it’s all straight going into the playoffs. Just trying to be ready.”
As the regular season gets closer to ending, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is trying to figure out who is going to get major minutes in the playoffs.
Barring an epic collapse in the final part of the regular season, Cleveland will be in the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season, LeBron James’ last with the franchise before he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mobley is doing all he can to help the Cavs make it back to the playoffs. This season, he’s recording 16.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while knocking down 55.2 percent of his shots from the field.
Naturally, plenty of fans were expecting him to be more dominant and score more in his sophomore season, but the offseason acquisition of Donovan Mitchell hasn’t allowed the University of Southern California product to get up more shots.
In fact, he’s taking 11.9 shots per game this season, which is a small decrease from the 12.0 shots per contest he took last season.
What’s more important, though, is that he’s been more efficient with his shots. The improvement is evident, and that bodes well for Cleveland’s future.
The former No. 3 overall pick has had some fantastic offensive performances this season, including a 38-point performance in January against the Milwaukee Bucks.
As for his minutes, he gets 34.1 per night. He’s gotten 40 or more minutes only three times this season, with two of those games going into overtime.
Rotations tend to shorten in the playoffs, which forces players to play more minutes than they do in the regular season. That doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem for Mobley, as he’s ready to do whatever it takes to help the Cavs win.
