CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Evan Mobley is headed to All-Star weekend, again.
Mobley, the third pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was named to the Jordan Rising Stars on Tuesday as a sophomore.
He participated as a rookie last year in Cleveland.
“It's funny because the bar was set so high for Evan because of the year that he had as a rookie and the impact that he had on winning so young that I think people underestimated and don't appreciate all the things that he's accomplished this year,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “When you look at Evan recently what he's been able to do offensively and how he's been scoring the ball and being much attack minded and aggressive with the ball in his hands his scoring has increased the way he rebounds and pushes the ball, the different things he's been able to do defensively for us.”
Mobley has played in and started 50 games this season where he is averaging a career-high 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting .554 from the field this season
Mobley has registered 14 double-doubles and is one of only four NBA players this season, joining Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Alperen Sengun, averaging at least 15.0 points on .500 shooting or better, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
Among second-year players, Mobley ranks second in rebounds per game, blocks per game and field goal percentage, third in double-doubles, and sixth in points per game.
“Evan could one night have zero points and be the most impactful player on the fourth for us,” Bickerstaff said. “That's the type of player that he is. He's such an unselfish team first winner that he's going to make the right basketball play every single time. So if teams rotate to him and trap him, he's just going to make the easy pass and get his teammate a wide open shot.
“People don't appreciate that all the time, but that's who Evan is because he just wants to help his team win and it's that simple.”
For the second straight year the Jordan Rising Stars will feature a three-game mini tournament among four teams comprised of NBA rookies, sophomores and NBA G League players.
Feeling the Heat – Tuesday night’s game with Miami was an opportunity to keep the Heat at bay.
“Any time a team is in position where they're chasing you with an opportunity to catch you, there is a different mindset,” Bickerstaff said. “Especially from a team as proven as that one that's across the locker room from us. The Heat have that toughness, that grit, that competitiveness that teams strive for and whenever they're in that position it's going to mean that much more to them and they're going to go out and try to get it done.”
Miami entered the night sixth in the East, 2.5 games behind the Cavs in the standings.
“It's kind of like a playoff game where I'm not saying all the other games don't matter, but this one has a heightened impact on our schedule, on the results,” Cavs center Jarrett Allen said. “So we're taking it a little more like a playoff game.”
Crowded East – Cleveland started the night a full game behind Brooklyn for the coveted fourth seed in what is a tight conference race.
The margin for error with February upon them is getting thin for the Cavs.
“We could win four in a row and be second. You can lose four in a row and be 10,” All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said. “So understanding that every game counts, but also in the same token, not putting that pressure on yourself every night because it can wear on you as the year goes on.”
Just 7.5 games separate the No. 2 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the eighth seeded Atlata Hawks.
“Every game matters in terms of seeding,” Allen said. “One team loses, they might jump two spots. It's just close in terms of record, every game matters.”
Big picture guy – The Cavs goal is to make the playoffs outright. That’s the big picture, but Allen chooses to stay in the moment – game by game.
It’s a lesson he learned from a movie.
“I've always been like that,” Allen said. “It's going to sound funny. Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda [said] ‘Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.’”