The Cleveland Cavaliers made the playoffs in both of the last two seasons, and last year, they won their first playoff series since LeBron James’ second departure in 2018.
But this season, they have gone from a solid playoff team to a team that looks like a legitimate championship contender.
Their offense has greatly improved, and starting power forward Evan Mobley has increased his offensive production.
But Spencer Davies pointed to another aspect of Mobley’s game — his ball-handling — that has elevated Cleveland this season.
The Cavs own the NBA's best record.
What's different this year?
"I think it's been Evan Mobley's ball-handling that's really taken them to the next echelon"@SpinDavies brings first-hand insight from Cleveland on Today's 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 @SwishTheory Pod pic.twitter.com/YSqcB9MRdn
— Ryan Kaminski – NBA (@beyondtheRK) December 23, 2024
Mobley, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has always been an intriguing prospect because of his ability to handle the ball and get his own shot, but in the last couple of years, he didn’t show much improvement.
This year, he’s averaging 18.4 points a game, which is up from 15.7 a game last season, and his usage rate has seen a meaningful uptick from his first three seasons as well.
While Mobley isn’t by any means a legitimate 3-point shooting threat, he is shooting 40.0 percent on 2.2 attempts a game from that distance this season, and Davies pointed to a recent game against the Charlotte Hornets as evidence that he has improved in that category.
In that contest, Mobley knocked down six treys in eight attempts and scored 41 points on 16-of-23 overall shooting in a 116-102 victory.
The Cavs have one of the NBA’s best starting backcourts in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and thus some felt the key to them becoming legitimate contenders was Mobley becoming an All-Star level player.
It looks like Mobley is on his way to becoming just that.
NEXT: Analyst Believes Cavs' Defense Needs To Improve
