The Cleveland Cavaliers have to be pleased that they got away with a 113-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night after a lethargic performance almost all night long. However, the Cavs have to be concerned that they barely got over the injury-ravaged Nuggets and that Evan Mobley doesn’t look anywhere close to being at his best, particularly on offense, since returning from a calf injury.
Mobley finished with just eight points on 4-10 shooting from the field, and he missed all five of his free-throw attempts. He made up for it with some good defense, but for someone the Cavs look at as a franchise cornerstone, this is the kind of scoring night that simply should not exist for him.
Specifically, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson did not like the fact that Mobley wasn’t able to impose his will against a depleted Nuggets frontcourt that was starting sophomore DaRon Holmes II at center amid Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas’ injury problems.
“Then just, generally, we gotta be stronger with the ball at the rim. Evan, like c’mon man. I love Ev, but we got an advantage inside. If we’re gonna throw it to these guys, they gotta do more with it,” Atkinson said, via @RealCavsFans on X (formerly Twitter).
Will Evan Mobley ever take the leap on offense for the Cavs?
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The Cavs are facing a bit of a conundrum; they see Mobley as the primary star of the team and the future of the franchise, but he’s not nearly good enough on offense yet to become the best player on a championship-winning team.
Mobley is posting worse numbers than he did last year, and he’s profiling as more of a worse Anthony Davis or Kevin Garnett on the offensive end. And at this point, this may simply be who the Cavs star is.