Donovan Mitchell expressed patience for Evan Mobley as he takes on a larger role with the Cleveland Cavaliers
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to win a championship, they need Evan Mobley to take another leap in his game. At least that's what his own teammates and head coach Kenny Atkinson have implied as they've emphasized Mobley going from a Defensive Player of the Year to an MVP this season.
To this point, each of Mobley's first four years in the league have come with some tangible steady growth. This year, though, he's being asked to do more than ever, particularly on the offensive end of the floor.
Mobley is bringing the ball up more. Asserting himself into the offense more. Being more decisive with his shot selection. Atkinson is encouraging it. So are his teammates. But there's a learning curve to being "the guy."
Donovan Mitchell knows that better than anyone.
"I told him this, I said 'bro it's not easy," Mitchell said after Sunday's 117-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks. "Just because you go out there and put the work in, it was a blessing for it to be seamless each year, his growth, but it's not always like that in this league. He's in a situation that I kind of put myself in in Utah, when I was with Quinn [Snyder], where you're told to go score or go be that guy but then the next part is reading that the defense knows you're trying to score, which is a good problem to have that means they know you're a threat."
The next step for Mobley is striking the balance between getting his shots up and creating for his teammates.
"So now when the paints clogged, he did it three times tonight, and that was my favorite plays of the game. Same thing in Toronto, where he got in there, knew they were coming to swarm, throws it to the guy out there. And even if they don't do nothing with it, it just tells the defense that he's gonna make that play. So then it opens up stuff at the end of games, or when we're running certain things, or he's playing in the half roll, now he's making it easy for himself."
Sunday was one of the rougher nights in Mobley's evolution. He entered the fourth quarter shooting just three-of-11 from the floor and had scored just six points. He stuck with it though, and found something in the fourth quarter, where he shot three-of-five from the floor, dropping eight points in the process. The run included a massive three with 1:24 to go that helped Cleveland pull away from the Hawks, 109-100 to cement the win.
Rome wasn't built in a day. Fortunately, Mobley has the runway of the regular season to figure it all out. It helps that Mitchell and company are willing to be patient with him. That's easy to do when they know what the payoff can be.
"It's a balance and I keep telling everybody it's not gonna be perfect," Mitchell said. "This is what we're working for this 82 games. Would it be great if he figured it out day one? Sure, but that's not realistic. For Ev, continuing to find that balance both in and out and when you're asked to be that guy on this team it's not gonna always click right away. Not to say he's not playing well, he's playing phenomenal but there's another level and he's starting to find it, game-by-game."