The Cavs turned things around quickly after their ugly loss to Utah.
The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back with a big win in Philly. Let’s see who won the night.
WINNER – Evan the Enforcer
Anyone who has been wanting to see Evan Mobley be more aggressive should feel good after this game.
Mobley was quick and decisive tonight. He’s the perfect pick-and-roll partner when he’s attacking each play with a purpose. A hard roll followed by a quick hook shot is nearly unguardable when you have Mobley’s size and athleticism.
The Cavs have searched for the best way to get Mobley involved offensively. The best, in my opinion, is getting him the ball in motion. You probably can’t give Mobley the ball in isolation and ask him for a bucket. But if you can hit him on the move — he’s dynamic enough to finish plays with the best of them. Mobley had 17 points on 7-10 shooting tonight.
And that’s only one end of the floor.
Mobley had 4 blocks today, each one more impressive than the next. He’s re-established himself as one of the best rim protectors in the game, averaging 2.7 blocks per game since December 29th. This streak should have Mobley skyrocketing up the Defensive Player of the Year ladder, even if his team has mostly been lagging behind.
We understand that this season has been underwhelming for Mobley so far. But things are certainly looking up after a performance like this.
WINNER – Ball Movement
Like most teams, the Cavs are better when they move the ball.
It’s clear the Cavs were more focused from the jump tonight than they were in all 48 minutes against Utah the other day. Cleveland was in an immediate groove, sharing the ball and running through multiple offensive actions until they found a quality shot.
We haven’t seen the Cavs pass like this almost all season. Philly didn’t know what hit them.
The Cavaliers finished with a season-high 41 assists and improved to 13-1 this season when they dish 32+ assists in a game.
WINNER – Team Defense
Mobely was fantastic on defense tonight, but for the first time in a while, he wasn’t alone.
Before this game, Cleveland had fallen to 24th in defensive rating since mid-December. They had only held two opponents under 110 points since December 6th. They can add another team to that list now, as they kept Philly to just 106 points on 40.4% shooting.
The Cavs were especially good at containing the perimeter. The 76ers shot below 30% from three and couldn’t counter by getting to the rim.
Jarrett Allen deserves a shout-out for his efforts against Joel Embiid.
WINNER – De’Andre Hunter
We’ve been admittedly harsh on Hunter this season. Some of that is his own fault. Some of it is leaning into the bit.
But tonight, Hunter fought his way back into the winner category.
I know, maybe you’re thinking the bar has been lowered to the point where the bare minimum is being celebrated. All I can say is positive reinforcement is worth a shot. Hunter did his job tonight, and there’s no sense in bemoaning a good performance.
Hunter had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. That’s only the 9th time in his career that he’s recorded that stat line, accordingto Stat Muse. It’s the third time he’s done it since landing in Cleveland last year. Growth is growth.
I suspect that Hunter will be easy to predict moving forward. Is his shot falling? If the answer is yes, then he’s probably rebounding and playing defense, as well. But if the shot is absent, the rest of his game appears to follow.
It won’t always be that simple, but that’s the general rule of thumb I’m operating with moving forward.
Category: General Sports
