Evan Mobley got revenge on Rudy Gobert
When the best defender in the NBA defies its predecessor, inevitably, creates some sparks… Saturday night, Cavaliers fromEvan Mobley so they hosted Rudy Gobert’s Wolves, and revenge was in the air as they were Kenny Atkinson’s players prone during the week in Minneapolis.
Criticized in recent weeks, Evan Mobley used this revenge to send a message with a second half that was outstanding in every way.
After a rather lackluster first half, where we saw the Frenchman cover him up with threes, the reigning DPOI completely took over the match, and it all started with his winning duel against Rudy Gobert. Author of six dunks in the second half, he scored 16 of his 24 points after the break to finish on 11 of 16 shooting.
Kenny Atkinson adapts his role
His dunks will be remembered for the “sengun-style” feint in the third quarter or the floater over the Frenchman. The key? Kenny Atkinson decided to stop this experiment and use it as a “point forward”.
“I don’t regret it”, However, the coach responds. “That’s what you have to do to get to the next level.” If you stay with the status quo, if you just try to repeat what you did last year, I don’t think you’re turning a corner. The key is to take risks, try new things. And when you get to the point where you say, ‘This isn’t working,’ then you have to adjust a little bit. »
The Cavaliers find the real Mobley
Located closer to the circle, Evan Mobley feels more comfortable and more dangerous. “It’s an essential part of my game, so I always have to maintain it, and I think it makes the team better when I play aggressively.”Interior Ohio explained.
For Darius Garland, we find last season’s Mobley, All-Star and the best defender in the NBA, but also tenth in the MVP voting. “He’s going back to what he did last year, I think,” confirms the leader. “When everybody’s on the court, he doesn’t have to play as much isolation or reverse pick-and-rolls. He just goes to his spots, shoots over his defender and defends. So I think he’s a little more comfortable in the role he’s playing right now than he was at the beginning of the season, and we like that.”
2026-01-11 14:41:00
