Cavs News: Atypical Mobley, Garland scoring quirk, time to panic
Evan Mobley has been lauded for his versatile defense early in his career but his offensive upside shouldn’t be ignored. As The Athletic’s Kelsey Russo details ($), Mobley’s teammates and the entire Cavs organization is excited for what Mobley is bringing now and moving forward.
Donovan Mitchell says that Mobley can impact a game on offense or defense and isn’t out to hunt shots, and that isn’t “not typical for a second-year player.” J.B. Bickerstaff lauded how Mobley goes out “every single night and [tries] to help us win.”
The upside for this Cavaliers team will be realized if and when Mobley becomes an offensive force, but he’s on a good team already and doesn’t need to maximize shots to realize his potential. Having his team fully bought into his potential and his work ethic bodes well for the future.
More Cavs news
14 times this season a Cleveland Cavaliers player has scored at least 30 points. Caris LeVert had that one 41-point explosion in Boston, and Donovan Mitchell has hit the mark an impressive 11 times. What’s interesting is that Darius Garland makes the list two times, and only at the very top. He exploded for 51 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and dropped 41 on the Charlotte Hornets. Not one time this season has Garland scored in the 30s. That’s likely just an early-season quirk, but it speaks to how the Cavs are willing to ride the hot hand.
Over on the main site we looked at three players who are struggling to start the season. Should the Cavs panic or be patient with each of them? Some of the stats paint a brutal picture for a couple of the Cavaliers’ rotation players.
NBA news
One of the games of the year went down on Tuesday night, with a Klay Thompson game-tying shot on a beautiful play at the end of regulation clanging off the rim to give the Dallas Mavericks the 116-113 win. Luka Doncic dropped 41 points while Stephen Curry had 32 of his own.
Injury news on Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns also came out: he is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a calf strain. He avoided an Achilles tear but it’s still a long time for him to be out. Do the Minnesota Timberwolves right the ship without him?
Next. Panic or patience with 3 struggling Cleveland Cavaliers players. dark
Coming up: The Cavs take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.