Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland smiled when asked about Cavs forward Evan Mobley taking corner 3-point shots in Tuesday’s practice.
“I love it,” Garland said, BasketballNews.com Editor Spencer Davies. “I love when he’s just outside the perimeter shooting the 3-ball.
“We’re confident in him. He’s confident in his shot. He’s working on it every day. I want him to shoot it.”
Evan Mobley’s 3-point stats are nearly identical between his rookie and sophomore years, according to Basketball Reference. He made 0.3 of his 1.3 attempts per game in both of his years in the NBA. Even so, Mobley’s attempts from beyond the arc have increased since an eight-point win over the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 11, peaking at six shots against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Mobley made two of his six 3-point attempts against Toronto, including one of his four corner shots. The 21-year-old forward’s first three 3-point attempts were from the left corner. He missed his first two before finally hitting a shot off a dish from Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell in the second quarter. He made one long-range shot from the top of the arc and missed two more attempts from the right corner and the right wing.
Mobley told the Akron Beacon Journal that he has always envisioned himself being an All-Star and “a top guy in the league” on Feb. 18.
“I definitely have high hopes,” Evan Mobley said. “I’m just going to keep striving to get better and better so I can be that.”
Darius Garland’s expectations were pretty close behind.
“He has that chip on his shoulder,” Garland said on Tuesday. “He believes he’s one of the best in this league. We all do in this gym. We want him to show that.
“He’s been just going full speed, downhill. Being aggressive at all times in the game. Shooting the middy going 1-on-1. We love his aggressiveness.”
The Cavs will tip off against the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday in TD Garden. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN and Bally Sports Ohio.