The Cleveland Cavaliers blew another crucial lead in Game 5.
They looked better, more aggressive, and prepared earlier in the game before falling flat again in the second half.
As pointed out by Jimmy Watkins of Cleveland.com, plenty of that might have to do with Evan Mobley.
In his latest column, he showed that the USC product had a tendency to be aggressive right out of the gate, but he took a step back as the game progressed:
“Since returning from his ankle injury, Evan Mobley is averaging seven first-quarter points per game. During that same span, he’s averaging just two second-quarter field goal attempts,” Watkins wrote. “It happened again during Tuesday’s loss vs. Indiana. Mobley started strong (again) with 10 points in nine first quarter minutes. One quarter later? Four points, one field goal attempt in over 10 minutes played. Mobley finished with 24 points Tuesday on 8 of 12 shooting. Wonder how many he could’ve scored with five more shot attempts.”
Mobley was dealing with a bad ankle, so perhaps that had something to do with it.
Maybe that was by design, and coach Kenny Atkinson wanted the ball in his shot-creators’ hands.
Mobley took a big step forward in the first year playing for coach Kenny Atkinson.
While his offensive numbers were essentially the same, he took better shots, was more aggressive getting to his spots, and even became a reliable three-point shooter.
He has the potential to be a Chris Bosh-type three-level scorer, and the coaching staff needs to give him more touches on offense to unleash the next level of his game.
The Cavs will have to hit the drawing board again and have some tough conversations about the status of the roster and their core four going forward.
It might be time to put more weight on Evan Mobley’s shoulders.
They already signed him to a big contract, so they might as well give him an opportunity to blossom as the elite two-way player everybody thought he would be.
NEXT: Rick Carlisle Gets Honest About Ending Cavs' Season
