NBA executive says a lot of teams are going to copy Cavs’ 2-big approach

In an era of NBA basketball where playing small ball is seemingly glorified, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone against the grain and started two big men in their frontcourt this season.

Power forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen have been mainstays in the team’s opening lineup, and the Cavaliers own the best record in the NBA right now at 45-10.

With how well Mobley and Allen have played together along with the Cavaliers as a whole, an unnamed executive seems to believe that plenty of opposing teams will emulate Cleveland’s double-big lineup.

“It’s a copycat league,” one executive said. “You see Cleveland playing two bigs and having success, and other teams are going to try to copy that model.”

While both Mobley and Allen have been very productive for the Cavaliers, the former is probably having the superior campaign of the two. He’s come into his own on the offensive side of the ball in his fourth season in the NBA, as he’s averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game while shooting an impressive 37.4 percent from 3-point range.

But Mobley hasn’t let his larger role on offense compared to seasons past get in the way of his effectiveness on the defensive end. He remains one of Cleveland’s more disruptive players on the less glamorous side of the ball.

Concerning Allen, he’s been a dependable double-double machine in his fourth full season with the team. He has played in every one of Cleveland’s 55 games to this point and is averaging 13.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest.

He was dominant as a scorer and rebounder in Cleveland’s first game since the All-Star break, which came against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. In a game the Cavaliers won by 13 points, he totaled 16 points while converting all but one of his nine shots from the field to go along with 20 rebounds.

Perhaps at least one NBA team has already copied the Cavaliers’ double-big approach. Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison mentioned the success that the Cavs have enjoyed when explaining his vision for his team after it traded for big man Anthony Davis.

The Cavaliers can extend their current winning streak to six games and further solidify their lead over the rest of the pack for the No. 1 seed in the East with a victory over the New York Knicks on Friday.