For the general public, coaching is hard to assess in professional sports. Often, our analysis of head coaches boils down to timeouts, substitutions, lineups, and out-of-timeout plays they cook up. It’s a bit of a black box. We choose how much we want to believe that a team is performing well (or poorly) because of their coach since no one really knows.
But when the Cleveland Cavaliers hired offensive wizard Kenny Atkinson, it was clear as day why they did it: To unlock Evan Mobley, who’s averaging a career-high 17.6 points per game.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, when the Cavs were looking for their next tactician this summer, their most important objective was to find someone who could not only devise creative ways for the Mobley-Jarrett Allen frontcourt to work, but also maximize the talent of their 23-year-old big man, who just signed a max contract extension.
While it’s typically hard to credit coaches for things like development, there are a few aspects Atkinson has brought to Cleveland that have helped Mobley take the next step in his career. In turn, they’re elevating the 8-0 Cavs to new stratospheres early on this season.
Grab-And-Go Mobley
Mobley’s transition frequency is through the roof this season. According to data provided to SportsCasting, Mobley is spending over 20 percent of his possessions on fast breaks, nearly 9 percent more than last season. He’s scoring 1.4 points per possession and has an effective field goal percentage of 72 percent. Atkinson is empowering Mobley to grab live rebounds and push the ball himself.
In the past, Mobley would typically rebound and pass it to Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland to push in transition. But now, he’s being asked to crash the glass, bring the ball up himself, utilize his handle and seek out Mitchell and Garland, who are both leaking out to space the floor. Mobley can find one of them open for a shot or impose his will physically as a finisher in the open floor.
And it makes for great plays like this.
OFFENSE. DEFENSE. WHAT CAN’T HE DO?!?! @evanmobley | #LetEmKnow https://t.co/z9hlDkxUnJ pic.twitter.com/PLN1Y9dZnz
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 5, 2024
Suppose the transition opportunity doesn’t work out. Mobley simply initiates the Cavs’ half-court offense as the ball-handler above the break in five-out/Delay concepts, which also weaponize his ability to see over the defense and make reads.
Inverted Pick-And-Rolls
This season, Mobley is enjoying more time spent handling the ball in pick-and-rolls. Last season, Mobley ran 28 possessions as the pick-and-roll ball-handler. Through eight games, he’s already run 24 and has scored 0.89 points per possession in those moments.
A fundamental difference? The Cavs are using their guards as the screener in these actions to flip the pick-and-roll on its head. This has not only helped Mobley — who can use these screens to get smaller defenders switched onto him — but it has helped weaponize the off-ball shooting abilities of Mitchell and Garland. Both have been dynamic behind the arc thus far, knocking down 40 and 45 percent of their looks, respectively, on a combined 15 attempts per night.
It’s a pick-your-poison situation for defenses, but it’s become that way because of Mobley’s own aggression as a scorer. When the defense has to react, he’s using that split-second to burst into the lane, applying more force and physicality than ever, and demand opponents commit to the ball.
In these scenarios, he’s shooting 76 percent at the rim and has refined his touch in the short mid-range area to settle for floaters and push shots when available. The next step is for him to be comfortable taking the three when defenses give him the option. While that’s still in development, he’s made meaningful strides thus far, knocking down 5 of his 12 3-pointers to open the year.
Weaponizing The Weak-Side
Atkinson has implemented a fairly common and modern concept around the NBA: Spacing non-shooting big men to the corners. Sure, teams won’t be running Mobley off the 3-point line in those situations, but the corner is a closer and relatively easier shot to attempt. It also grants him a runway to burst into the lane without anyone crowding up the dunker spot.
There have been quite a few Cavs possessions this year in which Garland or Mitchell will be running a high pick-and-roll with Allen and one of the guards gets downhill. As the weak-side defense commits to helping on the drive, Mobley will cut to the basket, attacking a tilted defense and finishing on the interior.
In this situation, he’s scoring nearly 1.4 points per possession. This is absolutely dominant stuff from Cleveland’s big man.
It’s way too early to make any big proclamations about anything or anyone. But it was apparent — even before this season — that Mobley would determine the overall success of this Cavaliers core. He was, and is, the ultimate swing factor that could take them from a fun, competitive playoff team to a bonafide contender. So far, he’s done that.
With a few minor tweaks, Atkinson has unlocked the version of Mobley that many fans envisioned he could become when he was taken third overall in a stacked 2021 draft class. It’s one that reads the floor well as a passer, punishes mismatches on the inside, uses his athleticism and ball-handling skills in transition, dominates off the ball, and is aggressive as a scorer when needed.
The trickle-down effect on the rest of the team is evident in its top-tier offense (second in offensive rating), defense (third), and undefeated record (first in the East). Through two weeks, the Cavs are a testament to why continuity matters. Trusting in a core group of players allows them to grow together, build chemistry, and find new and unique ways to succeed on the court.
With some patience and new coaching, that formula has helped Mobley turn the corner in his career. If both he and his team keep this up, he could be looking at his first All-Star nod this winter.
