Whether it’s Mobley’s decision not to get involved, the teammates for not slinging him the rock or a simple coaching error that didn’t draw anything up for the 6-foot-11 forward, it cannot happen again. If Cleveland wants to maximize their potential, Mobley has to get more involved in the offense.
On the season, his numbers now come in at 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists a night. He’s also putting up shooting splits of 49.6% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc.
Before the year began, the expectations placed on Mobley were that he could be the No. 2 guy alongside Mitchell before eventually taking over the No. 1 spot and being the Cavaliers’ poster child.
But right now, that doesn’t look like it’ll be the case.
For reference, players like Jalen Duren and Alperen Sengun are balling out. They’ve been in talks as some of the best big men in the league with Mobley, however, they are out performing him by a long shot.
Sengun currently is averaging 22.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists a night on really strong splits of 49.0% from the field and 44.2% from the perimeter. While he’s not known for his defense, he also is tacking on 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks a night.
On the other hand, Duren is ahead of Mobley, too, in season numbers. He has lines of 20.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists a night. Duren isn’t taking any shots from deep range but is also shooting an incredible 67.1% from the field.
At this point in the season, there’s still a lot of room to grow and improve, but Mobley has to start showing signs of it.
His ceiling is incredibly high, especially with his multi-level scoring, and if he can regain confidence he might be right back to where he should be.
His next chance to hit the court comes on Friday, Nov. 28, against the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Group stage. The two sides will square away from State Farm Arena with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.