Perhaps no member of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ core four has shown greater improvement on the offensive end of the floor from this season to last than big man Evan Mobley. He earned the first All-Star selection of his NBA career earlier in the campaign and is averaging a career-high 18.6 points per game so far in his fourth season in the big leagues.
A big factor behind Mobley’s offensive growth has been his willingness to let it fly from deep with greater regularity. He’s averaging 2.9 3s attempted per game and is shooting 36.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Amid Mobley’s career year, former Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams identified him as the team’s “wild card.” He also said that Mobley can get the Cavaliers “over the hump.”
Evan Mobley is (kind of) the most important player on the Cavs 👀
"He is the wild card. You know what you're gonna get out of your star players, but your wild card, that third option is the guy that gets you over the hill." – @TeamLou23
"If Donovan Mitchell were to go down, I… pic.twitter.com/tw8MANuGTO
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 12, 2025
“I will say this — I think Perk (Kendrick Perkins) is right in the sense of he is the most important player,” Williams said of Mobley. “He is the wild card. You know what you’re gonna get out of your star players. But your wild card, that third option, is gonna be the guy who’s gonna get you over the hill — get you over the hump — of doing something really special. Now, is it on his back? That’s the part I’m gonna disagree with.
“That responsibility is always gonna weigh down on your star players. They’re your stars for a reason. Even though Mobley is an All-Star, he was the third All-Star. And we know that he’s not the best player on that team. He doesn’t have the responsibility of being the best player on a team. So, we’re not gonna get to the playoffs and all of a sudden say that them winning is gonna be on the back of Evan Mobley. No, them winning is gonna be on the back of [Darius] Garland and it’s gonna be on the back of Donovan Mitchell, simple and plain. Now, whatever Evan Mobley gives you after that is gonna be integral to what they’re trying to accomplish, but it’s not gonna be on his back.”
Hopefully Mobley will be able to pick up right where he left off in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs when the 2025 NBA Playoffs start up in April. He was maybe the best big man on the floor for either team in Cleveland’s series against the Boston Celtics.
The Cavaliers bowed out in a gentleman’s sweep, but Mobley turned plenty of heads with his level of play. He averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 block per contest against a Celtics team that cruised its way to the 2024 title.
Mobley is hoping that later this year, he will advance past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his NBA career. The big man has just one playoff series victory under his belt since joining the big leagues, and that came against the Orlando Magic in the opening round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
But Mobley and the Cavaliers should focus on the task at hand before they turn their attention to the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Cleveland still has 17 games remaining on its 82-game slate and can set a record for the longest winning streak in franchise history if it can beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
If the Cavaliers come out on top against a Memphis squad that’s been one of the better teams in the West this season, it would mark their 16th win in a row.