The Cleveland Cavs anticipated All-Star Evan Mobley’s next stride in his development to no avail this season, according to an anonymous NBA scout. As the Cavs hope to make their momentous leap toward a deep playoff run after injuries derailed them from reaching their full potential last season, health has once again become a lingering hurdle.
Amidst injuries to starters Darius Garland and Max Strus this season, the Cavs hoped for Mobley to step into a more prominent role, which hasn’t been the case, according to ESPN’s Tim Bomtemps.
“In essentially replacing 2025 Sixth Man finalist Ty Jerome with Lonzo Ball, the Cavaliers knew they were risking a lower regular-season ceiling in favor of a higher one in the playoffs. That’s exactly what league insiders are seeing through the first month of 2025-26. The departure of Jerome and the absence of Darius Garland, who has played just 73 minutes while dealing with a big toe injury, has dropped last season’s top-ranked offense to outside the top 10,” Bontemps reported.
Ball isn’t having the season the Cavs were hoping for, according to a Western Conference scout.
“They’re not great right now, but they’re down at least two starters,” a West scout said, referring to Garland, Max Strus, and Sam Merrill all missing time. “Lonzo hasn’t been great.
“Are they better [than last year]? Probably not. They’ve always needed Evan [Mobley] to get even better, and he’s not there yet.”
Evan Mobley is averaging 18.8 points on 47.2% shooting, including 34.8% from deep, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game for the Cavs this season. Cleveland is 10-6.
Donovan Mitchell drops truth bomb on Cavs’ chances at No. 1
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Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell isn’t stressing over the No. 1 seed. Amid an 82-game regular season, Mitchell’s only hope is for his team to be healthy enough to compete in the postseason, which he revealed in an interview with Video Gamer’s D.J. Siddiqi.
“Would we love to do both? 1,000%,” said Mitchell, speaking about both securing the first seed and entering the playoffs peaking at the right time. “I’m not going to sit here and say we wouldn’t want to be the number one seed. At the same token, we saw last year that you can do all the things, but if you’re not ready when that time goes and if you’re not necessarily healthy, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve done during the regular season. ”
Mitchell also spoke on his mindset for what happens if the Cavs don’t secure it.
“Would I love to be the No. 1 seed? Sure. But if we’re not, am I going to be panicking? No. As long as we’re playing our best basketball at the right time, that’s all that really matters.”
The Cavs will host the Pacers on Friday.
