Cavs big man Evan Mobley felt the full brunt of the Celtics’ attack in Cleveland’s Game 3 loss.
Against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers witnessed Derrick White and Jaylen Brown shoot well from outside the field. With big man Evan Mobley accounting for almost a quarter of Cleveland’s rebounds, the Cavs were able to adjust and shut off Boston’s perimeter threat while still managing the game’s general flow.
The Cavs were tested on the glass in Game 3, which allowed the Celtics to blunt Cleveland’s strength and frustrate Mobley in a hard-fought home playoff loss.
After the game, Mobley told ClutchPoints, “I felt like there was definitely an emphasis on their side to try and keep me off the glass.” I still make an effort to go up and collect it each and every time, but occasionally you just can’t.
“They performed an excellent job of just following me around our belongings. Guards would constantly search for me and try to keep me off the glass whenever someone made a layup.
Since Jarrett Allen was out due to a persistent rib ailment, Mobley has stepped up and established himself as Cleveland’s second-best player on the court throughout this postseason run. Even though Mobley has taken on the role, playing center isn’t his natural position for the Cavaliers most of the time, and the strain of being the team’s sole defensive anchor has been wearing him down.
After Mobley injured his ankle in Game 3, there was a brief worry as he had to heal on the court. He said after the game that since he’s the only big man left in Cleveland who gets significant playing time, that’s what he has to do.
How Cavs can support Evan Mobley on the boards
So, with Boston making it their focus to limit a banged-up Mobley and Allen unlikely to return for Game 4, what can Cleveland do to support their young star? It might require a paradigm change for the Cavs’ starting lineup now that Dean Wade has returned after missing nearly two months with a bothersome knee injury.
In Allen’s absence, Cleveland has been using Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Isaac Okoro as their starting lineup, with Mobley covering the interior. Wade is back, so it could be time to think about switching him out for Strus or Okoro to help Mobley hold the glass more effectively.
Wade doesn’t have the strongest rebounding stats, and his season average of four rebounds per game won’t matter much unless he isn’t limited in minutes. However, given how Boston is defending Cleveland, the Wine and Gold can maintain the advantage in rebounding if they have a bigger player to help box out the Celtics and let Mobley and other Cavs players.
Mobley explained, “It’s just a lot of switching.” “The last time, they switched up their defense and I thought it was slowing things down. They used different defenders on me. Therefore, when people switch like that, we have to do other things and offer different advantages.
More significantly, Wade’s replacement still provides the Cavaliers with spacing, which is something they have occasionally struggled with in the postseason. Cleveland needs to find a way to help Mobley and maintain equilibrium against a Boston club that is desperate, even though it’s not a perfect answer.
If not, the Cavs’ season is on the line as they travel down 3-1.
