What can Evan Mobley do to improve himself and help Cavs play better?

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the 2022-23 NBA regular season with a 51-31 record and entered the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 4 seed. However, they lost to the fifth-ranking New York Knicks 4-1 in the first round.

During that series, sophomore Evan Mobley averaged 9.8 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, 1.2 blocks and 2.4 turnovers per game. He shot 45.8 percent from the field, earned a total of eight free throws and missed three of them. It’s unfair to be too strict on a sophomore especially in his first playoff series, but Mobley’s performance against the Knicks was disappointing no matter how you slice it.

As a 2.13-meter, 97-kilogram big man, Mobley is too thin, in both the upper and the lower body. That’s why he played poorly in finishing and rebound protecting in the series against the Knicks when Jarrett Allen took a breath on the bench. Without enough individual offensive threat, Mobley’s passing skills are not good enough for him to make plays, either off the dribble or in the high post.

Despite his disappointing offensive performances, Mobley continued to grow as a unicorn on the defensive end. His numbers in blocks and steals were mediocre last season, but they didn’t show his role in the Cavaliers’ system by exploiting his height, agility, wingspan and reading of the game. He was selected into the All-Defensive First Team last season and made key contributions to his team’s NBA-leading defensive rating of 110.6.

So, in his third NBA season, what can 22-year-old Mobley do to fix his shortcomings and, hopefully, help the Cavaliers go further in the playoffs? It would be fantastic if he can become a solid 3-point shooter to stretch the floor for Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Allen to charge the rim, but it’s also unrealistic to expect someone who made 0.3 triple at 23.3 percent per game to start making shots consistently from downtown.

What Mobley can work on is improving his finishing skills in the paint. His career free throw rate of 67.4 percent means he is not a born shooter, but he can and needs to learn how to finish with traditional skills of old-school big men, including making hook shots and floaters at the free throw line.

Since the Cavaliers rely heavily on their back-court pair, Mitchell and Garland, to launch attack via screen plays, Mobley can and should learn how to set better screens and, more importantly, improve his passing skills in the high post. Mitchell can switch freely between attacking off the dribble and without the ball. Garland drained 2.4 triples at 41 percent per game last season. Allen has a complete set of finishing skills when he receives the ball next to the hoop.

The growth of Mobley will have a great impact on the Cavaliers, but it’s not the only decisive factor. Despite their NBA-second-best net rating of +5.6 last season, their roster is problematic at the structural level. Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen averaged the team’s top-four longest time per game last season and they will continue to play such integral roles unless a blockbuster trade happens, which seems unlikely because they have nearly no assets left after trading for Mitchell in September 2022.

As the big men pair, neither Allen nor Mobley shoots 3-pointers, meaning that they can’t stretch the floor at all. As the back-court pair, both Mitchell and Garland are defensive deadweight and will absolutely be attacked ruthlessly in the playoffs.

The above facts throw the Cavaliers into a desperate need for a small forward who can be a productive 3-point shooter with accuracy, is able to contain the opponents’ perimeter ace and can attack efficiently without the ball. Even some of the All-Star calibers don’t sound as good as this player, not to mention that the Cavaliers are not in the most attractive market or have enough salary space to sign someone like this.

The Cavaliers count on Caris LeVert to play the role, but he fits the best in playing the sixth man. The team signed two free agents, Max Strus and George Niang, during the offseason, but if the two replace Mobley and LeVert, they will expose Allen to severe and endless firepower in every minute of his time on the court.

Therefore, unless Isaac Okoro suddenly plays like Klay Thompson or the Cavaliers magically find the next Thompson, the team will have to wait patiently.