.jpg)
1 hour ago
3
Evan Mobley was supposed to develop into a team-leading star for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At this point, it's questionable whether he should even be on the floor at the end of games in the playoff series against the Detroit Pistons.
The Cavs are down 0-2, and it's far from just Mobley's fault, but it's really not been good from the talented big fella.
For example, on Thursday night, Mobley finished with 1 rebound in 36 minutes.
MORE: Cavs' James Harden gamble made sense but has busted again
His teammates defended him afterward, saying his box outs freed rebounds for others, and there were indeed a few occasions where that was true.
There were also a number of times he went up for the ball and simply didn't come down with it.
The Pistons' centers, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, are both much more muscular than Mobley, and it showed.
Mobley also finished with just 9 points on 4-for-10 shooting. He had four assists, two turnovers, three steals and three blocks.
The defensive impact was clearly a Mobley-esque performance. But in some ways, so was the lack of impact at the other end.
He's never quite put all the pieces together to dominate when he's supposed to. Teams switch relatively freely against Mobley because he doesn't always punish those smaller defenders anyway.
And the thing about Mobley is this -- he's supposed to be on the rise. Sure, the Cavs hoped James Harden would help rather than hurt, and that hasn't happened, but Harden is in the twilight of his career. Mobley is supposed to be approaching his prime.
Right now, Mobley's performances have certainly left doubt about just how good his prime might end up being.
More NBA news:
- Bronny James just did something Michael Jordan never did
- NBA playoffs block record gets confusion from Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell
- NFL legend tells Joel Embiid to 'stop being a' bad word
- The tricky part of the Toronto Raptors' future has arrived
- Jaylen Brown blames the 'media' for a problem he created himself
English (US)