In less than 24 hours, Evan Mobley went from Clark Kent to Superman. In the Cleveland Cavaliers' 95-89 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Mobley bounced back spectacularly after shrinking in game one of this back-to-back miniseries between Cleveland and New York. In the first leg, Mobley finished the evening with six points, 12 rebounds, five rebounds and two blocks, a line unbecoming of a star player.
“I think we have to do a better job of getting him the ball, and that's me included,” said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “I think the way they were defending him, we were heavy in the pick-and-roll, and they were trapping him or trapping Donovan [Mitchell]. He was catching the ball in the pocket, and he does make the right play.”
Well, Mobley bounced back faster than a New York minute at Madison Square Garden, finishing the evening with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Mobley made his impact felt everywhere and anywhere on the court for the Cavs, reading and reacting to how Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein and the rest of the Knicks' frontline defended him while showcasing his arsenal on both ends of the floor.
When there were opportunities to score, Mobley would score, finishing the evening 5-of-10 from the floor. When he didn't see a look he liked, Mobley passed and created 12 of Cleveland's 71 points from his playmaking.
Evan Mobley comes up big against Knicks in second half
The way Mobley responded from a middling Game 1 effort was vital to the Cavs locking up their second win of the season.
In the first half, Mitchell was nearly unstoppable for Cleveland. He had 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was Cleveland's only player to score in double figures.
But in the second half, the Knicks adapted to Mitchell's dominance, constantly hitting him with double-teams and forcing the ball out of his hands. When Mitchell did get a look at the basket, it wasn't pretty. The superstar guard was held to five points in the second half, connecting on only two of his eight field goal attempts—setting the stage for Mobley to pick up his slack.
“Evan is going to make the right basketball play,” said Bickerstaff when asked about Mobley balancing his increased role in the offense on Tuesday evening. “He's just not a selfish player. And the right thing is to pass the ball to the open man, and that's the play Evan is going to make.
“I know that people want to put that burden of points, points, points on him, but Evan can be the most impactful player on the floor because of what he does on both ends. That's where we value him. The points will come.”
The points did come for Mobley on Wednesday, mostly in the second half. He scored eleven of his fourteen points in the closing frames, and more importantly, created seven additional points through his playmaking.
The Cavs having a star other than Mitchell step up when the team is dealing with a laundry list of injuries will be critical for Cleveland's early season success, especially whenever opposing defenses read and react to Mitchell and slow down his offensive flow. Sure, it isn't the prettiest way to win, but for a team like Cleveland dealing with a losing slide, a win's a win.
Maybe now the Mobley and the Cavs can try to win in Cleveland instead of just New York.
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