INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – For the most part, I agree with Koby Altman when it comes to Evan Mobley.
“This is a big offseason again for Evan,” said the Cavs president. “We‘re going to go as a franchise as Evan is going to go. And we‘ve had that conversation with Evan.”
My guess is these comments were made to continue to challenge Mobley. He already is an All-Star and the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in his third NBA season.
The 7-foot Mobley won’t turn 24 until June 18. When it comes to fingers of blame for the loss in five games to the Pacers, it’s hard to point many at Mobley. The big man averaged 18 points, 9.8 rebounds. He shot .578 from the field … and get this … he led the Cavs regulars in 3-point shooting percentage (.429).
“In the playoffs, we need more,” said Altman. “We need more than 13 field goal attempts a game — that‘s new, that‘s new for Evan. There‘s another jump.”
That’s the strategy: Squeeze more out of the enormously talented Mobley. It’s one of the reasons coach Kenny Atkinson was hired a year ago. Atkinson did set up situations for Mobley to handle the ball more often and asked him to be more assertive when it came to looking for shots.
It’s obvious that he was physically stronger this past season compared to 2023-24. That should continue as he physically matures.
I love Mobley the basketball player because he is defense-focused. He’s an unselfish and humble player. He’s never going to be a vocal leader, but his voice will be heard when he speaks up. That’s because he usually doesn’t talk unless he has something meaningful to say.
Pushing Mobley to do more on offense is the right move.
At 23, Evan Mobley already is an All-Star and the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
But there’s more
Why did the Cavs lose in such discouraging fashion to the Pacers?
Rebounding? The Cavs outrebounded Indiana, 229-208. On the offensive boards, the Cavs had a huge 70-35 advantage. The Cavs even outrebounded Indiana in the dreadful 129-109 Game 4 loss.
The Cavs lost this series in the backcourt.
When Altman and Atkinson talk about the need to be mentally tougher, they do mean rebounding in clutch situations – such as on the missed free throws at the end of Game 2.
But the real problem was how the Cavs dealt with Indiana’s full court pressure.
“They press full court,” said Atkinson. “They run consistently all game. They never stop. It’s hard to do. I give them a ton of credit for that. It’s extreme ball pressure.”
And the Cavs didn’t handle it well.
I dwelled on that when asking Altman questions. It’s a frustrating topic because Darius Garland was awful in this series – but he also was hampered by a significant toe injury.
In the three games vs. the Pacers, Garland averaged 14 points, shooting 34% from the field and 17% from 3-point range. He had the same number of assists as turnovers – 12.
The Cavs are challenging Darius Garland to get physically stronger. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
What about Garland?
“He (Garland) needs to get stronger so he can compete at the highest level,” said Altman. “It’s the same thing that [happened] with Stephen Curry. … Now, Steph is all-world. I’m not making that comparison. But Steph got stronger … over his years. He’s a different physical specimen than he was when he first started playing.”
Garland is listed as 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds. Curry is listed at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds. When at his best, Garland has some Curry-traits in terms of long-range shooting and making some surprising and successful drives between big men going to the rim for a variety of layups and floaters.
Garland is 25. He is coming off his best regular season, averaging 20 points, 6.7 assists and shooting 47% from the field, 40% from 3-point range. He deserved to make his second All-Star team.
When I pressed Altman about the smaller backcourt with the 6-foot-3 Donovan Mitchell and Garland at times having problems in the playoffs, he denied it.
“We can dispel that,” he said. “We supplement what you would call the small backcourt with tremendous size and length. Adding De’Andre Hunter (6-foot-8) was a huge piece to that.”
Garland also struggled in the playoffs last season, averaging 15.7 points while shooting 43% from the field and 34% on 3-pointers. Once again, injuries were a factor. He was coming off a regular season where he suffered a broken jaw and lost about 25 pounds because he was on a liquid diet.
One of the frustrating aspects of the last two postseasons for the Cavs was Garland not being healthy. That makes it hard to judge if they would indeed be as effective in the postseason (when defenses can concentrate on them) as they are in the regular season.
“That’s a durability question,” said Altman. “How does he get physically stronger? How does he get mentally stronger? And he’s still 25, so he’s young. But there’s a level that he has to get to from a body standpoint.”
It appears Altman will return with the same backcourt. Ty Jerome is a free agent. Because of the Cavs’ salary cap situation, it’s not ensured he’ll be back. Jerome also was exposed as having trouble with Indiana’s relentless pressing defense.
I thought the Cavs could have used Craig Porter Jr. to help with the ballhandling. Would that have changed the course of the series? No. But Porter has poise and natural point guard skills. Atkinson deserves to be second-guessed for that – especially with Garland injured and struggling.
Donovan Mitchell wants to desperately get the Cavs pointed in the direction of going deeper in the playoffs. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
The big picture
I don’t think Altman has been given enough credit for how he rebuilt the Cavs roster after LeBron James left for the Lakers in the summer of 2018. His drafting was excellent – picking All-Stars in Garland and Mobley. The trades for Jarrett Allen and Mitchell were tremendous moves.
The Cavs’ Core Four of Mitchell, Allen, Garland and Mobley are between the ages of 23 and 28. They all are on long-term contracts.
“I love our foundation. I love our core,” said Altman. “I’m really high on and optimistic about our future. That being said, it can’t just be 82 (regular-season) games .. Playoff success needs to come next … There’s an internal belief because of what we proved this year during the regular season and what we’re capable of to run it back and see what we can do.”
I tend to lean in Altman’s stay-the-course direction, despite my doubts about the Garland/Mitchell combination. I would look for a bigger ball-handling guard to either replace Garland in a trade, or at least help coming off the bench.
One of the reasons Atkinson was hired was his belief in the roster and his reputation as a coach who develops young players. Mobley is not the only one who needs to grow. Players not only mature physically, but also mentally – often through adversity.
We’ll see if Atkinson can develop that with the Cavs.