ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is completely on board with big man Evan Mobley having the ball in his hands more often.
"He is 102% on board with this plan," – @WindhorstESPN on Donovan Mitchell's feelings on Evan Mobley having the ball more in his hands this season.
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“I specifically asked Donovan Mitchell this question when I was down in Sarasota,” Windhorst said. “I said, ‘If the ball’s in Evan’s hands, the ball’s not in your hands.’ And he is 102 percent on board with this plan.”
Windhorst’s report comes just days after former Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett said Mobley has “gotta get a little meaner” and start demanding the ball on the offensive end of the floor.
“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.”
Mobley also appears motivated to take the next step into stardom, as he said late last month that one of his goals is to earn the first All-Star nod of his pro career.
#Cavs big man Evan Mobley said he wants to be an All-Star and re-enter the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) September 30, 2024
It seemed as if a lack of touches was a factor holding Mobley back from being one of the best scoring big men in the league during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Cavaliers have plenty of players who can score the ball at a high volume, so Mobley was far from Cleveland’s No. 1 option a season ago. In fact, he averaged the fourth-most points per contest on the team behind Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen.
He also averaged just 11.0 field-goal attempts per game after he averaged 12.0 in his first two seasons with the Cavaliers.
But the numbers behind how Mobley scored his points imply that he has the skill set needed to be one of the Cavaliers’ top scoring options. For one, he shot the ball with great accuracy from inside and outside the 3-point arc. He buried 60.4 percent of his 2-point field goals as well as a career-high 37.3 percent of his 3s (even if the sample size was small from deep). Overall, he shot 58.0 percent from the field.
In addition, Mobley is better at generating his own scoring opportunities than someone like Allen is. During the regular season, 74.4 percent of Mobley’s made baskets came off assists, while Allen was set up by a teammate for 82.3 percent of his baskets.
It’ll be interesting to find out whether Mobley will solidify himself as Cleveland’s best scoring big man in the 2024-25 campaign. In order for that to become a reality, though, the Cavaliers may need to ensure that Mobley has the ball in his hands more than he’s ever had before in his fourth season.
