Why James Harden’s Cavs win puts more pressure on Evan Mobley

Once Evan Mobley put together All-NBA season and Defensive Player of the Year for Cleveland Cavaliersthe standard has been set. Teammates, coaches, fans and the media have been talking about the seven-footer all summer, throwing his name into MVP conversations without hesitation. So, in turn, anything that falls short of those expectations is considered a failure by some, and perhaps, based on how unwavering the praise was and Mobley’s own words at last year’s All-Star Game, that’s fair enough.

Now that Darius Garland is in Los Angeles, the microscope seems to have magnified the 24-year-old forward so much. People tend to turn that number around when the Cavs lose, especially on national television.

Although he had a dunk and a rebound, Mobley missed several 3-pointers in the final 3:20 of the game when his team was still within striking distance. And despite holding Chet Holmgren to an average game, OKC’s power forward grabbed 15 rebounds compared to Cleveland’s two. They didn’t go head-to-head every minute of the game, but that’s an alarming difference.

All 13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s offensive rebounds from Sunday.

Where do you think the blame lies? pic.twitter.com/eKsb19FU7GD

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Mobley deserves criticism for that part of the contest. Even if he’s out of position on most of the Cavs’ possessions, due to the switch-heavy defensive scheme, posting two total rebounds of that magnitude is simply unacceptable. Follow the ball and grab it. When it’s in your hands, be strong with it, hold it high and don’t let the opponent take it away from you.

Should he really bear the blame for most of it? Additional features of Thunder? No. There were three cases, maybe fourwhere Mobley could have done a better job on the defensive glass that wasn’t tied to turnovers that found OKC’s perimeter players away from the paint.

• At 7:26 of the second quarter, he stayed home on Jaylin Williams to make sure he wouldn’t get a 3-pointer; however, when Jared McCain mistimed his floater, he waited too long to get into the mix with his teammates, who should have figured it out themselves because of the 3-on-2 advantage.
• Similarly, at 9:19 in the fourth, Mobley didn’t want to allow a red-hot Cason Wallace a free look in the left corner, so he tried to time the contest between Holmgren while driving; he forced a turnover that rolled off the rim, but neither he nor Donovan Mitchell came up with it.
• Although he had a solid position, Hartenstein got the better of Mobley at 2:30 of the final frame, which allowed Lou Dort to beat him back to the top of the floor.

Evan Mobley’s Frequently Changing Cavs Responsibilities

Let’s get away from thing that is rejected for just a minute and shift gears to Mobley’s all-around offensive game. The Cavs put the ball in his hands early in the point forward role in the first few weeks of the year. It was experimental because you do that in the regular season. He brought and initiated, and when he didn’t have it, he spread the floor. It was more dribbling, isolation, self-creation and clearance than off-ball work.

Then, as the campaign wore on, Cleveland wanted to put Mobley in better positions to succeed, with fewer handoffs, like in 2024-25. That meant using him as a mid-floor hub, putting him in a screen and slide, and getting him closer to the bucket. Mobley blossomed in early December, recording four consecutive double-double performances before going down with a left calf injury. He was ruled out for a short five games, then returned on Christmas Day.

After regaining his footing, Mobley enjoyed a solid January, which included the best game of his season. He scored 29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks in 35 minutes against the Sacramento Kings. He didn’t turn it over once and went 13-of-24 from the field. Unfortunately, after another solid showing in Game 2 of the home-and-home series with the Orlando Magic, Mobley experienced more pain in the same calf. He missed time from January 28th until the NBA All-Star break.

Returning to a much different team, James Harden is now his point guard, which changes the calculus of what Mobley needs to do. At best, in this team, he is the third option for the shooters. That was different just a few months ago, so there’s an adjustment to be made on his end (and Harden’s).

Jarrett Allen is already an essential pick-and-roll partner for Harden, so where does that leave Mobley? Well, for one thing, Cleveland needs to get him in for a dunk this second. With the gravity carried by both the ball handler and the roller, he should have plenty of opportunities to take advantage. In particular, Harden or Allen alleys should be common.

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson mentioned that Mobley’s jump shot can also be used as a weapon. He sure doesn’t shoot the three right now, which could be due to a lack of lift from his lower leg, but he’s still a confidently capable mid-range shooter. He just has to use them if the opportunity arises. Atkinson also sees opportunities in a double-sized lineup for him to find mismatches early on at smaller forwards and guards. Harden can be trusted to feed him when that happens.

We will see Mobley along with Mitchell without Harden and Allen on the floor. Staggering allows for optionality in terms of playstyle. The two had a lot of success last year and have established good chemistry, which should allow both to succeed as usual. Adding Schroeder to the mix also helps because his downhill nature forces defenses to stop the ball.

Painting the whole picture

So many accidentally leave out Mobley’s defensive acumen when evaluating his game. Being the ultimate deterrent who shuts down driving lanes, sprints to corners to contest and changes shots all in one possession doesn’t make for highlight reels unless you’re a coach. It’s a tough job because in that department, Mobley is one of them. Find another player his size who covers as much ground, shifts seamlessly and recovers as well as he does.

Alas, noise comes with the territory of making a lot of money. Mobley had a poor offensive season, and it shows in his production numbers throughout the season. Does that mean he became a basketball player? Not at all. He will turn 25 in mid-June. Judging by Cleveland’s push and pull with his offensive duties, the nagging calf that has held him up twice, and adjusting to life with a new floor general, it makes sense that Mobley hasn’t figured it all out at this point.

However, the The Cavs put the timeline into overdrive. They were basically crowned after an undefeated stretch after the trade deadline. Garland, his old Core Four partner in the two-man game, went to the West Coast. The veterans are now in the building, stepping up the locker room in a bigger way to really get the team ready for the playoffs.

Hopes are high to the limit for this fresh-faced bunch of wine and gold, so anything less than great will be met with a fierce response, whether it’s justified in the long run or an instant reaction in the heat of battle. This means that Mobley will have to quickly adapt to what is being asked of him and accept the role that has changed again.

Fair or not, that’s just the reality of the situation.