Until Sunday afternoon, Evan Mobley had only played a handful of possessions as the Cleveland Cavaliers' lone big man with James Harden running the show. But since Jarrett Allen's been out of action for the last two games due to knee tendinitis, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has gotten a closer look at the Harden-Mobley tandem, and he is intrigued by the possibilities.
“I want them to get together and work on it more,” Atkinson said after Cleveland's 115-101 win over the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers. “I think that could be a really lethal combination. Obviously, with JA, it's a little bit different because JA is more of a lob guy. Evan's a little more controlled in the roll.
“I've talked to James about that, just getting those two together and talking to Evan — how he wants the screening angles, when he wants him to slip out, when he wants him to hold. With Evan, you can mix in the pop too. But as those guys get a better relationship, get in the gym a little bit more together, I'm excited about that.”
As Atkinson mentioned, there are stark differences between each of the Cavs' big men at the 5. Allen is one of the best screeners in the NBA, on top of being one of the quickest rollers in the game. There's a reason he and Harden have formed an instant chemistry off the bat.
Mobley typically has to play off of that when he and Allen are both in the game. He's more in the dunker spot, or he's cutting from the corners. There's still another layer for big-to-big passing in those situations, out of the pocket-catch, or connecting in the high-low action that made the “Tower City” duo so dangerous when they first started playing together in a pick-and-roll heavy offense. But what about when Allen isn't there?
“The spacing's completely different,” Atkinson said. “Donovan [Mitchell]'s already got the synergy and played with Evan alone, so with James, it'll be something new.
“But who knows? Game 3, first round of the playoffs, you might have to go with a single big. You might have to go with Evan as your only 5. It's great we're getting reps at it. I hate JA being out, but the positive is James and Evan can get some synergy with that single-big lineup.”
In the short time he has spent with Harden, operating without his frontcourt partner, Mobley has had to up his traditional pick-and-roll game to fill the void. Atkinson shared that the two communicated about it throughout Monday's game.
“He's got to be even better,” Atkinson said of Mobley. “Teams are swarming him when he gets in the paint, and he's got to be able to make those reads quicker. But I do like when he gathers himself, plays off two [feet]. But you've still got to read: are they coming, are they staying at home? I'm glad him and James are getting reps with this; Evan's not used to rolling all the time. I think James can help him be better on the roll. I think Evan's good, but he can be much better.”
“I've gotta be dominating the paint,” Mobley said last week at practice. “Jarrett plays a big role with that and helping me with that. And if he's in or he's out, I've gotta be that guy to anchor down the paint, and offensively setting good screens, making it easy for James and getting in that roll and being aggressive offensively as well.”
Asked about what it takes to get used to a new point guard, Mobley pointed to tendencies, such as when, where, and how to set those picks. It helps that he's been watching Harden “most of my life,” so nothing's caught him by surprise. However, it's one thing to see it on a television and another thing to react to it on the floor.
“He's very confident,” Mobley said. “Doesn't really get sped up, plays at his own pace. So if there's a blitz, he's big, he's strong, so he can throw it over the top. He throws nice passes behind the big. He's not scared to take risks. There's a lot of benefits with how he just controls the game.”
To this point, the Harden-Mobley combination sans Allen has played 140 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. That's not a huge sample size, and it's been a mixed bag of competition, but early returns say Cleveland can get to the free-throw line at will and take care of the basketball with the best of them. The problem is a poor offensive rebounding percentage and an effective field goal percentage of 47.7% which ranks in the second percentile in the NBA.
Is that eFG% figure skewed because of an insanely poor second quarter against the Boston Celtics? Certainly. Regardless of the missed shots, the offense hasn't been at its best since Allen went down. Plus, defensively, the Cavs are allowing a 33.0 opponent free-throw rate, which is as poor as any, along with a 55.7% eFG%.
Cleveland's most-used non-Allen quartet with Mobley at center has shared 40 possessions: Harden, Mitchell, Sam Merrill, and Dean Wade. It's easily been the most effective; at the same time, that's the lineup that beat up on a shorthanded, undersized Philadelphia 76ers group a day after the C's took them to the cleaners.
This isn't an easy evaluation because of the polar ends of competition in back-to-back days. That doesn't mean there aren't learning points from these last two games.
Cavs' James Harden, Evan Mobley want to create advantages for each other
Harden already has his priorities in mind to strengthen their on-court bond.
“It's me trying to figure out, ‘How can I be aggressive and make the team better?' because that's a plus, but putting him in better positions too,” Harden said. “Depending on who's guarding us, like if it's a big guarding him and they're more like in a drop coverage, then try to get downhill and hitting him in the pocket.
“Or if they're switching and they've got two like-sized guys, or I feel like he has the mismatch, getting him the ball in a better position closer to the rim to where he can make one or two moves and he's at the rim. It's gonna be possession by possession, literally. The more opportunities we can get on the court, the better off we'll be.”
Inversely, Mobley also believes it's on him to put Harden in spots where he can succeed.
“That pick and roll, just hitting my screens hard,” Mobley said. “They're going to put the best defenders on him, [so] making sure we get him off James, get him into space, and maybe get switches. And then rolling hard, making a threat on myself so that it's easier for him to get off.”
Taking nothing away from his versatility, Mobley is not in the same company as Allen when it comes to screening defenders. He thrives more as a ghoster or brusher than he does laying into an opponent and stopping him in his tracks. He's also more of a baseline lob threat than he is over the top on a straight line.
Cleveland should utilize Mobley's strengths in dribble handoffs with Harden, as he does with Merrill above the break. It could generate some momentum to turn the corner on either side in the half-court, allowing the veteran star to get downhill with less of a need to break down his opponent. It may potentially create mismatches for both of them to exploit, too, as Harden mentioned.
There's also traction lately to Harden playing out of the post with his back to the basket; maybe while he's drawing defenders on the block, Mobley can do some cutting like a movement wing? The seven-footer could elect to spot up for a triple, then attack off the dribble after a pump fake.
Or they might just keep linking up on 70-foot alley-oops, since the last one looked so easy.
Whichever route the Cavs want to go, these are priceless reps for Harden and Mobley as the season begins to wind down.
