Cavs rookie Evan Mobley channels a young Kevin Garnett, finds room to roam

CLEVELAND — More than 10 years ago, J.B. Bickerstaff became intrigued by a Flip Saunders zone defense that put Kevin Garnett at the top of the floor.

In 2021, Cavaliers coach Bickerstaff found his Kevin Garnett to run it.

There’s no certainty that Evan Mobley, the third overall pick by the Cavs from the University of Southern California, will follow Garnett’s path to the Hall of Fame. Mobley played his third game Saturday night and recorded his first double-double as the Cavs defeated the Atlanta Hawks 101-95 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

But at age 20, Mobley is already showing the intelligence, versatility, and court awareness to take on a role handled by Garnett, a 15-time All-Star and 12-time All-NBA defender.

After the Cavs landed Mobley, Bickerstaff started thinking about Sanders’ zone. Bickerstaff had seen it when he was an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2007-11 and Sanders was coaching in Detroit and Washington. When preseason began, Bickerstaff installed the defense of Sanders, a Cuyahoga Heights High School graduate who coached in the NBA for 17 seasons before he died in 2015.

As the Cavs picked up their first victory of the season, Bickerstaff saw Mobley lead the 3-2 zone like an established veteran. The strategy threw the Hawks off their rhythm. They shot 38% for the game, and just 32% in the second half as Mobley roamed the paint.

“Seeing Evan’s ability to move through that made me think of when KG was playing at the top of that zone,” Bickerstaff said. “So over the summer we went and studied it a bunch and put it in, and tonight it was really good for us.”

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As Mobley explained, in the 3-2, “I’m supposed to be basically everywhere on the floor. So it’s weird for the offense to play in because I’m in a lot of different spots. I think that slowed Atlanta down.

“I just rely on my teammates to tell me where all the guys are and then I try to locate them and get to my right spots. That’s basically how the defense works.”

Seemingly every day, Bickerstaff mentions he only has to tell Mobley something once and he immediately picks it up. That’s what happened with the zone.

“I feel like naturally I kind of roam around the paint anyways,” Mobley said. “I’m just roaming. Don’t really have a man. Wherever the ball goes I go. It’s not too hard. Feel like I got pretty comfortable with it pretty fast.”

The only drawback, Mobley said, is it “gets a little tiring moving to all the spots.”

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Mobley is underselling what is required to pull it off, Bickerstaff said.

“That position he plays in that zone is not an easy position. You’ve got to quarterback it from the front and also see and be aware of what’s behind you,” Bickerstaff said.

“The longer you leave him on the floor, good things happen. You don’t have to do a lot for him to get involved in the game. You don’t have to shut down your offense to throw him the ball in iso game. Defensively you don’t have to make any adjustments because he’s capable of doing a lot. It’s not easy.”

At shootaround before the Cavs opened the season in Memphis on Wednesday, Bickerstaff was asked if there were NBA players he wanted Mobley to emulate. Bickerstaff shot for the stars.

“There’s a lot of people that we’re trying to pull pieces of because I think he is truly unique in his skillset and his size,” Bickerstaff said of Mobley, who stands 7-feet. “There’s things from Kevin Garnett defensively that we’re trying to pull. Anthony Davis. There’s a whole bunch of guys we’ve watched and we think he can do some of the things they do. We’re trying to put it all together and trying to put that package in front of him.”

Asked why that is not too much for him, Mobley said Saturday, “Because he’s asking me to emulate them, but knows I’m still my own player. It’s still me being me. It’s not too much. I just still try to play my game, take bits and pieces from them, but still be myself and play how I play.”

Bickerstaff said when he told Mobley he was asking him to play at the top of the zone like Hall of Famer Garnett, Mobley responded with his trademark straight face.

“‘OK,’ and he goes out and he does it,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s impressive. He’s earned our trust quickly because of how quick he can pick things up. Sometimes it’s unfair to ask him to do it, but he just does it and he goes out and gets it done.”

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Cavs five-time All-Star forward Kevin Love is just as impressed with how Mobley can handle the zone. Love didn’t need to look at Mobley’s stat line against the Hawks — 17 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots, an assist, and a steal in 35 minutes.

Mobley became the fifth Cavs rookie to record 17 or more points, 11 or more rebounds, four or more blocks and a steal in a game, joining Hot Rod Williams (1986-87), Brad Daugherty (1986-87), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (1997-98) and Bill Laimbeer (1980-81). Mobley’s four blocked shots were the most by a Cavs rookie since J.J. Hickson notched four on Nov. 26, 2008 vs. Oklahoma City. Mobley has seven blocks, the second-most by a Cavs rookie through three games behind Roy Hinson (11 in 1983).

“He’s got a huge future in front of him. It doesn't surprise me that he's able to do that,” Love said of Mobley's performance in the zone. “In my mind, he's going to make a number of all-defensive teams in his career. So he's just getting started. Once he really goes through the league a couple of times, like any rookie, once he figures it out, realizes how good he is, you're going to see him make those teams.

“But blocking shots, getting steals, rebounding. Obviously, on this team, we’ve got four guys that can really rebound the basketball. But he's going to be a guy who's going to get a double-double every night. It doesn’t surprise me that he's able to do it because he has the size and the willingness to do it. We're excited for him.”

Bickerstaff wouldn’t say Mobley is better than he expected because the Cavs did extensive pre-draft research. But what Mobley is capable of taking on so soon does reinforce how special he can be.

“For it to translate so quickly just speaks to how talented he is,” Bickerstaff said. “His skillset, it’s diverse, it’s versatile. But he is a rookie, so there’s going to come a bump in the road like for all the rookies.

“But I keep seeing him find obstacles and plow through them, and that’s the mentality that he has.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Cavs at www.beaconjournal.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

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