Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley tried to keep things positive when breaking the silence on Cleveland flaming out in its NBA playoff vs. the New York Knicks.
He told Right Down Euclid Editor-in-Chief Evan Dammarell that all the noise surrounding the Cavs right now is just that: outside noise.
“Mobley said people are free to say whatever they want, but Cleveland can control what they can control and use this moment to motivate and improve going forward,” wrote Dammarell.
Evan Mobley finished a 106-95 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday with six points, nine rebounds and four assists in just under 39 minutes played, quickly dishing the ball out to Cavs guard Caris LeVert in the first quarter before throwing up a lob to center Jarrett Allen in the third. Mobley and Allen combined for 13 rebounds, following up the 11 combined rebounds they hauled down in Game 4.
“That’s all I did last night,” Mobley said on his feelings about the unexpected ending to the season, via Dammarell. “But, you can’t dwell on things. We had a great season overall but we fell short of expectations.”
The playoff loss to the New York Knicks ended a 2022-23 Cavs campaign that saw Cleveland earn its first 50-win season since the 2017-18 season and its first playoff appearance without LeBron James since 1998.
“It’s an accomplishment for sure,” JB Bickerstaff said earlier this month, via Cleveland.com Cavs reporter Chris Fedor. “Winning 50 games in the NBA is not easy. The NBA season is long, it’s grueling, it’s difficult, it’s emotional.
“But being able to have a group of guys that commit themselves to the team, no matter the circumstances, the selflessness with all the other things that they have going on in the world, for them to sacrifice and move those things to the side, and just continue to focus on the team and do whatever it takes to continue to build a team.”