NBA legend Kevin Garnett thinks it would be in Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley’s best interest to change his on-court demeanor a bit as he heads into his fourth NBA season.
KG says it’s time for Nice Guy Evan Mobley to get mean 😤
The Big Ticket details what adjustments the young star needs to make before the Cleveland Cavaliers level up in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.⁰⁰Catch the latest Ticket & Truth: https://t.co/CuMYJuyWpi pic.twitter.com/ExdDrjmds2
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“He gotta go to the next level, P,” Garnett told co-host Paul Pierce. “He gotta get a little meaner. Evan, you too nice, my dude. Start calling for that motherf—–. ‘Throw that b—- down here.’ Start calling for it, my dude.”
Garnett is known as one of the most intense players ever to play in the NBA, and that intensity helped him become an all-time great at the power forward position. The former Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves star earned 15 All-Star appearances, 12 All-Defense selections, nine All-NBA bids, one Defensive Player of the Year award and one league MVP award during his playing career. He won a title in 2008.
He may have a point that Mobley should be more demanding in calling for the ball, as he averaged just 11.0 field-goal attempts per game during the 2023-24 regular season, which marked the fewest of his pro career so far.
When he did shoot, the 23-year-old made the most of his chances to score the ball last season. He shot 58.0 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from deep, although he didn’t shoot very many 3s.
Mobley’s caliber of play against the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs also might’ve been a sign that the former University of Southern California star is ready for a larger role on the offensive end of the floor.
There were stretches during the best-of-seven affair when Mobley looked like the Cavaliers’ best offensive player, especially at times later in the series when star guard Donovan Mitchell was sidelined with a calf injury.
Mobley scored a combined 52 points during Games 4 and 5 while shooting 23-of-37 from the floor, which equates to a 62.2 percent clip. He came up particularly big for the Cavaliers in Game 5, as he dropped a game-high 33 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks. Unfortunately, Cleveland lost that game and was eliminated despite his best efforts.
If the Cavaliers want to be legitimate contenders to win the 2025 NBA title, Cleveland may need Mobley to take that next step as an offensive player. Perhaps the 3-point shot will become a bigger part of his offensive arsenal moving forward, and maybe he’ll do more to hunt for his shots in his fourth NBA season.
