<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-what-evan-mobley-thinks-huge-incentive-win-dpoy');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Cavs’ Evan Mobley thinks about his huge incentive to win DPOY');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-All-Star-Evan-Mobley-next-to-Warriors-veteran-Draymond-Green.jpg"></figure><h1>What Cavs’ Evan Mobley thinks about his huge incentive to win DPOY</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-09T14:08:49-07:00">April 9th, 2:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-09T14:08:49-07:00">April 9th, 2:08pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation, as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>At the end of Cleveland Cavs All-Star Evan Mobley’s DPOY race, the top candidate revealed more than 45 million reasons he’d love to win this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Still, after Tuesday’s 135-113 win against the Chicago Bulls, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-takes-jab-draymond-green-evan-mobley-dpoy-endorsement" rel="noopener">Mobley listed reasons why he’s most deserving</a> of the award, which he says is at the top of the list of reasons he’s a top candidate for DPOY.</p><p>Mobley discussed his campaign for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award, which would come with a $45 million incentive. In a recent interview, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnzWj2Mk_W4&amp;t=3350s" rel="noopener">didn’t hesitate to mention</a> it, per Brian Windhorst &amp; The Hoop Collective.</p><p>“It’d be crazy not to mention this: if you win Defensive Player of the Year or you make All-NBA, which you have a strong case for, it’s like a $45 million bonus. Now, look, I’m not going to sit here and say I’m accusing you of thinking about money all the time, but having said that, $45 million. You’re already guaranteed a beautiful number, but it’s a huge thing,” Windhorst said. “Obviously, Defensive Player of the Year, I mean that carries with you for the rest of your life and everything, but nobody would blame you if you said I think I’d like to get $45 million.</p><p>“Have you thought about that at all?” Windhorst asked.</p><p>Mobley didn’t hold back in his response.</p><p>“It’s definitely been a thought through my head, but the main thing is just getting what you deserve,” Mobley replied. “I feel like I put out a great season so far on both ends, on the All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year terms. I feel like you should get what you deserve.”</p><p>Green is the odds-on favorite to win (-200) DPOY. However, Mobley is next at +245.</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley endorses himself for DPOY after Cavs win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-All-Star-Evan-Mobley.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Cavs veteran <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-tristan-thompson-calls-shifting-draymond-green-evan-mobley-dpoy-narrative">Tristan Thompson called out Draymond Green’s emergence</a> as having the best odds of winning Defensive Player of the Year, Cavs All-Star Evan Mobley explained what separates him from the pack.</p><p>Mobley <a href="https://twitter.com/HoodiGarland/status/1909803563238273261" rel="noopener">made his case</a> during his postgame availability, per HoodiGarland’s X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“My biggest thing is a guy my size, my wingspan, my agility; you don’t really see that in the contenders. There’s nobody even close to that,” Mobley said. “And also the stats, as well, speak for itself. The blocks, the fouls, I mean, I don’t foul. Steals, deflections, also, people don’t even go up against me in the paint, so that’s not even a stat.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Darius Garland: “I can go on podcasts and do the same thing for my boy.”</p><p>Evan Mobley: “Guy my size, my wingspan, my agility. You don't really see that.  There's nobody close to that. People don't even go up on me in the paint.“</p><p>Darius Garland: “TALK YO TALK.”🗣️🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/db6SxrSAKj">pic.twitter.com/db6SxrSAKj</a></p><p>— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoodiGarland/status/1909803563238273261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Mobley and Green’s race toward DPOY will come to an end soon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Cavs’ Evan Mobley thinks about his huge incentive to win DPOY

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-takes-jab-draymond-green-evan-mobley-dpoy-endorsement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Darius Garland takes jab at Draymond Green with Evan Mobley DPOY endorsement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-All-Star-Evan-Mobley-next-to-Cavs-All-Star-Darius-Garland.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Darius Garland takes jab at Draymond Green with Evan Mobley DPOY endorsement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-09T11:09:21-07:00">April 9th, 11:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-09T11:09:21-07:00">April 9th, 11:09am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation, as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-tristan-thompson-calls-shifting-draymond-green-evan-mobley-dpoy-narrative">Tristan Thompson called out the DPOY narrative</a> surrounding Cavs All-Star Evan Mobley and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green, Cavs All-Star Darius Garland entered the conversation. After Tuesday’s 135-113 blowout win against the Chicago Bulls, Garland spoke out about why Mobley is deserving of winning this year’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. He also encouraged Evan to campaign for himself.</p><p>Garland went down <a href="https://twitter.com/HoodiGarland/status/1909803563238273261" rel="noopener">the list of reasons</a> Mobley is most deserving, per HoodiGarland’s X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“He doesn’t hack. He doesn’t scream at the refs. He goes and blocks shots. His deflection numbers [are] out the roof,” Garland said. “He guards one through five. I mean, what doesn’t he do? He just doesn’t express it how other people express it. If you look at the numbers, if you watch the Cavs games, you see all the impact that he does for us on both sides of the ball, not just defense.</p><p>“But, since we’re on DPOY, blocks, deflections, switching out one through five on elite guards. It’s really an elite guard league right now, and he’s switching out on some of the top guards in the league, and really holds his own,” Garland concluded.</p><p>Most NBA fans would identify “hacking” and “scream at refs” as synonymous with Green’s antics, which have earned him numerous technical fouls and suspensions throughout his 12-year career. And if who Garland was alluding to wasn’t clear, his podcast take made it transparent.</p><p>“That’s just a little bit of my case,” Garland added. “I can go on Twitter, and go on podcasts, and do the same thing for my boy. But, I’m [going to] let him talk his talk whenever he wants to.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Darius Garland: “I can go on podcasts and do the same thing for my boy.”</p><p>Evan Mobley: “Guy my size, my wingspan, my agility. You don't really see that.  There's nobody close to that. People don't even go up on me in the paint.“</p><p>Darius Garland: “TALK YO TALK.”🗣️🗣️ <a href="https://t.co/db6SxrSAKj">pic.twitter.com/db6SxrSAKj</a></p><p>— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoodiGarland/status/1909803563238273261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Evan Mobley endorses himself for DPOY after Cavs win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-All-Star-Evan-Mobley-next-to-Warriors-forward-Draymond-Green.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Next to Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama, Cavs All-Star <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-evan-mobley-bold-best-player-alongside-wemby-claim">Evan Mobley says he could be the best</a> NBA player within five years. Therefore, seeing Mobley list the reasons he deserved the most to win DPOY wasn’t surprising, and Cavs All-Star Darius Garland knew how to egg him on in stating his case against Draymond Green.</p><p>“My biggest thing is a guy my size, my wingspan, my agility; you don’t really see that in the contenders. There’s nobody even close to that,” Mobley said. “And also the stats, as well, speak for itself. The blocks, the fouls, I mean, I don’t foul. Steals, deflections, also, people don’t even go up against me in the paint, so that’s not even a stat. There’s a lot.”</p><p>The Cavs will face the Pacers on Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Darius Garland takes jab at Draymond Green with Evan Mobley DPOY endorsement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-erupts-easts-top-seed');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs crush doubt as Evan Mobley erupts, push toward East’s top seed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-news-Cleveland-crushes-doubt-as-Evan-Mobley-erupts-push-toward-Easts-top-seed.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs crush doubt as Evan Mobley erupts, push toward East’s top seed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-04T20:16:05-07:00">April 4th, 8:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-04T20:16:05-07:00">April 4th, 8:16pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>From the opening tip, Evan Mobley made one thing clear: this wasn’t going to be a typical night — not for him, and not for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Against the shorthanded but scrappy San Antonio Spurs, Mobley <a href="https://x.com/cavs/status/1908345513222557763/photo/1" rel="noopener">came out blazing</a>, drilling three straight three-pointers to begin the game, then punishing defenders in the paint, before stepping out once more to bury a fourth triple before the first quarter even ended.</p><p>It was the kind of aggressive, dominant display that Cavs fans and coaches have dreamed of since Mobley entered the league. In his third season, he’s now making it reality. His 18-point first quarter blitz was a clinic in versatility. From the perimeter to the post, Mobley dictated every inch of the court, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/cavaliers-vs-spurs-prediction-odds-pick-spread-4-4-2025">helping the Cavs</a> pour in 38 first-quarter points and tie a franchise record with 10 made threes in a single frame.</p><p>And for all the praise Mobley has rightfully earned as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, it’s his offensive evolution that has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-injuries-vs-spurs-could-impact-chance-to-clinch-easts-1-seed">Cleveland believing something even bigger is possible</a>.</p><p>The Cavs’ 114–113 win over the Spurs wasn’t just a narrow escape. It was a showcase of how far Mobley has come. It also shows how close Cleveland is to claiming the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. The victory lowered the Cavs’ magic number to just one, with the top spot hanging tantalizingly within reach.</p><p>Mobley’s full stat line told the story: 25 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and a steal in 37 minutes. But the way he got there was just as telling. All season, he’s shown a hunger to attack mismatches — bulldozing smaller defenders in the paint and exploiting bigger, slower opponents with confident range. Against San Antonio, that playbook was executed to perfection.</p><h2><b>Cleveland’s supporting cast helped seal the win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Evan-Mobley-drives-Cavs-Spurs.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cleveland led by as many as 23 points late in the second quarter. But as has often been the case for this resilient Spurs squad, they didn’t go quietly. Despite missing key players like Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio clawed back. Devin Vassell scored 24. Harrison Barnes added 23. And Rookie of the Year frontrunner Stephon Castle delivered a near triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds.</p><p>By the 90-second mark in the fourth quarter, what had once looked like a runaway win had become a white-knuckle affair. Cleveland’s lead was down to two. Then one. A Donovan Mitchell layup was blocked. A Darius Garland three clanged off the iron. Suddenly, with 4.6 seconds left, the Spurs had the ball — and the chance to steal a game that felt like it was Mobley’s from the opening possession.</p><p>Barnes got the final look. He drove hard into the lane and lofted a shot that bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.</p><p>It wasn’t the emphatic finish Cleveland might’ve envisioned. But it was enough. The Cavs escaped — and in the standings, that’s all that matters.</p><p>Mitchell paced the team with 26 points. Garland chipped in 19. Jarrett Allen, who has proudly aimed to play all 82 games this season, logged 15 minutes in the first half before sitting the rest — a strategic rest plan agreed upon with team medical staff to keep him fresh for the postseason grind.</p><h2><b>The Cavs are closer to clinching top honors</b></h2><p>The Cavs will need help from around the league to officially secure the East’s top seed. A Phoenix victory over Boston would’ve sealed it, but the Suns came up short. Still, with just one game separating Cleveland from that coveted spot, the momentum is real.</p><p>And Mobley is leading the charge.</p><p>His emergence as a two-way force has transformed this Cavaliers team from a fringe contender into a legitimate threat. No longer merely the team that plays hard-nosed defense and leans on Mitchell to generate offense, Cleveland is evolving into a multi-pronged juggernaut — and Mobley is the key unlocking it all.</p><p>This wasn’t just a win. It was a statement. Not only from a team on the cusp of Eastern Conference supremacy, but from a player who looks more and more like the future face of the franchise.</p><p>The Cavs didn’t clinch anything on Friday night — at least not officially. But if Mobley continues to dominate like this, a playoff run through the East — and maybe even beyond — might not just be a dream anymore. It might be destiny.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs crush doubt as Evan Mobley erupts, push toward East’s top seed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-win-spurs-jarrett-allen-dominates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jarrett Allen’s dominance without Evan Mobley elevates Cavs past Spurs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/arrett-Allens-dominance-without-Evan-Mobley-elevates-Cleveland-past-Spurs-.jpg"></figure><h1>Jarrett Allen’s dominance without Evan Mobley elevates Cavs past Spurs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T09:03:20-07:00">March 28th, 9:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T09:03:20-07:00">March 28th, 9:03am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. But the Cleveland Cavaliers, shorthanded and tested, found a way. With Evan Mobley <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-rest-routine-before-playoffs-hits-evan-mobley-vs-spurs">watching Cleveland from the sidelines</a> and Tristan Thompson ejected, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-face-test-of-focus-not-fireworks-vs-victor-wembanyama-less-spurs">Cavs had every excuse to stumble</a> against a relentless San Antonio Spurs squad. Instead, they dug deep, leaned on their depth, and got a monster performance from Jarrett Allen to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401705625/spurs-cavaliers" rel="noopener">secure a hard-fought</a> 124-116 home victory.</p><p>This was a game defined by swings. The Cavs built a comfortable 16-point lead early, only to see it evaporate in a chaotic third quarter littered with officiating stoppages and momentum-killing calls. Playing with nothing to lose, San Antonio fought its way to an 81-79 lead, forcing Cleveland to respond.</p><p>And they did, led by Allen, their gentlest giant.</p><h2><b>Jarrett Allen took over in the fourth quarter for the Cavs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jarrett-Allen-during-Cavs-Spurs.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>For much of the first half, Allen was quiet. The 6-foot-9 center played 14 minutes, attempted just two shots, and seemed disengaged. His energy was low, his involvement minimal. But when the Cavs needed him most, he answered emphatically.</p><p>With Mobley in street clothes and Thompson ejected after a flagrant 2 foul, Allen became the sole rim protector and interior presence. And in the fourth quarter, he transformed into an unstoppable force. He punished the Spurs’ small-ball lineup, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the final frame, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.</p><p>“[The] number one key to our victory tonight was Jarrett Allen,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I don’t know how he does it energy-wise.”</p><p>Allen’s dominance was punctuated by a ferocious putback dunk off an offensive rebound, giving the Cavs a five-point lead with under five minutes remaining. He also grabbed 15 rebounds, securing his 38th double-double of the season.</p><p>His impact wasn’t just felt on the scoreboard. Allen’s defensive presence altered shots and forced San Antonio into tough looks late in the game. He outmuscled the Spurs’ undersized frontcourt and refused to let Cleveland be bullied inside.</p><h2><b>Cleveland’s depth helped determine victory</b></h2><p>Cleveland’s depth was tested, and it delivered. With the starters shouldering a heavy load, the Cavs’ reserves provided the necessary spark to keep the game from slipping away.</p><p>Sam Merrill played a pivotal role, finishing with 13 points, including three timely three-pointers that helped swing momentum back in Cleveland’s favor. De’Andre Hunter added 14, including seven in the first quarter, setting the tone early.</p><p>Javonte Green’s impact, though less obvious in the box score, was undeniable. He hit a clutch three-pointer late in the game and had a crucial tip-out for an offensive rebound, helping extend a key possession in the fourth quarter.</p><p>“He’s gotta be a pinch hitter. He’s gotta come in and get an extra possession, get us a rebound,” Atkinson said after the game. “He’s a winner. He knows what we need, he knows his role, and his athleticism is unique.”</p><p>Isaac Okoro also made the most of his minutes, finishing with nine points and four rebounds. His defensive intensity was crucial, yet in the deep Cavs rotation, tough choices had to be made.</p><p>“Isaac probably deserved to finish, but he didn’t,” Atkinson admitted. “These are really hard decisions, but I’m constantly talking to the team. You have to be selfless and you have to support your teammate and have a positive spirit.”</p><h2><b>Don’t forget about Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell!</b></h2><p>Mitchell was the catalyst when the Cavs needed him most. He started the game in a facilitator role, ensuring his teammates got quality looks. But when the Spurs surged ahead in the third quarter, he flipped the switch.</p><p>Mitchell finished with 25 points, a career-high 14 assists, and eight rebounds, proving why he’s the Cavs’ go-to leader in crunch time.</p><p>When San Antonio briefly took control, Mitchell orchestrated Cleveland’s response. He drove into the lane, found Merrill cutting for an easy layup, then kicked out to the sharpshooter for a three on the next possession.</p><p>“It changed the game. Because we started out poorly,” Atkinson said of Mitchell’s facilitating. “[Mitchell’s] stint was not good, his first stint, and in that second stint he came in, they packed the paint, I mean, extreme paint packing, and he just started spraying the ball around. Once he got it out of their tight shell, then we started making decisions behind that, and that kind of broke the game out. So his understanding, his reading of the game is elite. It changed the game.”</p><p>Then, with the crowd desperate for a spark, Mitchell provided one. Charging into the paint, he elevated for an emphatic dunk, igniting Rocket Arena and shifting momentum squarely in Cleveland’s favor heading into the fourth quarter.</p><h2><b>Even with the win, Cleveland is focused on the bigger picture</b></h2><p>The Cavs showed resilience down the stretch, closing the game on a strong defensive stand. In the final four minutes, Cleveland held the Spurs to just seven points, clamping down when it mattered most.</p><p>But despite the win, the team knows they can’t afford to wait until the fourth quarter to play their best basketball.</p><p>“You got to be playing your best basketball going in the playoffs,” Max Strus said. “You don’t just want to wake up when it’s time to wake up.</p><p>“We need to start figuring out what it is that we need to do to play our best basketball and be our best selves going into April and May. … I think everybody in here knows that and got that message, and we’re gonna try our best to figure that out for these last nine games.”</p><p>With just nine games left in the regular season, Cleveland continues its pursuit of playoff readiness. They’ve proven they can win ugly, battle adversity, and rely on their depth. But as Strus and others have emphasized, they want to be more than just a tough team—they want to be a dominant one.</p><p>For now, they’ll take the win, learn from the lapses, and prepare for the next challenge. If nothing else, Thursday proved one thing: No Mobley, no problem—when Allen, Mitchell, and the Cavs’ bench step up, they can still find ways to win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jarrett Allen’s dominance without Evan Mobley elevates Cavs past Spurs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-dpoy-draymond-green');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley, not Draymond Green, should be uncontested Defensive Player of the Year');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Evan-Mobley-not-Draymond-Green-should-be-uncontested-Defensive-Player-of-the-Year.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley, not Draymond Green, should be uncontested Defensive Player of the Year</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T10:31:07-07:00">March 27th, 10:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T10:31:07-07:00">March 27th, 10:31am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Only four players in NBA history have won Defensive Player of the Year before turning 24. Cleveland Cavaliers Evan Mobley could become the fifth, joining elite company: Kawhi Leonard, Jaren Jackson Jr., Dwight Howard, and Alvin Robertson. But the narrative has suddenly shifted in a season where the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-rest-routine-before-playoffs-hits-evan-mobley-vs-spurs">Cavs superstar has dominated defensively</a> from start to finish.</p><p>Draymond Green, a player who has already earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, has surged into the conversation recently, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/warriors-news-draymond-green-surpasses-evan-mobley-as-dpoy-betting-favorite">inexplicably overtaking Mobley in the odds</a>. It’s a shift that doesn’t sit well in Cleveland, regardless of whether it’s in the locker room or the fanbase. Mobley <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4866/onoff#tab-team_efficiency" rel="noopener">has been the backbone</a> of one of the NBA’s best defenses, anchoring the Cavs on a nightly basis. The numbers and his impact all point in the same direction: Mobley is the rightful Defensive Player of the Year. Anything else would be an injustice.</p><h2><b>The Cavs aren’t happy Draymond Green is stealing Evan Mobley’s spotlight</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Evan-Mobley-drives-on-Draymond-Green-Cavs-v-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>For most of the season, the Defensive Player of the Year race had a clear frontrunner: San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. The sophomore phenom led multiple defensive leaderboards until a blood clot issue ended his season prematurely. With Wembanyama out, the award seemed destined for Mobley, until the narrative shifted.</p><p>Despite Mobley’s dominant season, Golden State’s Draymond Green has inexplicably surged up the odds, bumping Mobley from the top spot. The reason? It’s not defense—it’s storytelling. Green, a known media personality, has openly campaigned for the award. And in a league where perception sometimes outweighs reality, his push has gained traction, and some on the Cavs aren’t happy about it stealing Mobley’s spotlight.</p><p>“Evan is Defensive Player of the Year. Should be a no-brainer,” Darius Garland said. “You’ve seen it for however many games we are at right now. He’s definitely the best defender in the league by far. Switching onto guards and bigs.</p><p>“I don’t know how many blocks he’s averaging, but it’s up there. He’s definitely the wrong person to get switched onto and go ISO on because it won’t work. Contests. Steals. Blocks. Isolation defense. Defensive efficiency. On/off. There’s no 7-footer that is doing that right now in this league.”</p><p>Mobley’s defensive stats reinforce everything his teammates are saying. He ranks:</p><p>Yet, despite all of this, he’s fading in the DPOY race.</p><p>“It’s kind of embarrassing, actually,” Garland added. “He’s gotten robbed out of a couple awards already. I don’t want him to be robbed out of this one too. He’s deserving of it. He’s been doing it for three years now. He hasn’t gotten an award yet. I think it’s time the league gives him the recognition he deserves.”</p><h2><b>“He is the key for us defensively.”</b></h2><p>With Mobley on the floor, Cleveland boasts the eighth-best defensive rating in the league, allowing 112.5 points per 100 possessions. The Cavs’ defense is even more suffocating when Mobley and Jarrett Allen share the floor, dropping to a stifling 109.6 rating, which ranks in the 89th percentile among all two-man lineups.</p><p>But Mobley’s true value shines when he’s alone on the court. Even without Allen beside him, Cleveland still posts an elite 110.9 defensive rating (82nd percentile). Meanwhile, when Allen plays without Mobley, the team’s defense collapses, surrendering 114.4 points per 100 possessions (55th percentile).</p><p>Mobley has the best on/off defensive rating swing of anyone on the roster and ranks 10th among all forwards and bigs who have played at least 1,000 minutes. For comparison, Green ranks 29th and isn’t even the best defensive player on his team.</p><p>Still, Mobley’s impact can’t be quantified by numbers alone. It’s why veteran big man Tristan Thompson has given him a new nickname, “DPOY.”</p><p>“He is the key for us defensively,” said Thompson about Mobley’s defensive ability. ” [He’s] able to guard 1-5. Alters shots. Blocks shots. In the passing lanes. Rule of verticality. Switches onto guards. He is able to do so much at that end of the court. Like I’ve always said, he is a young Anthony Davis. Ev is a nightmare defensively.”</p><p>That nightmare was on full display in a recent win over Portland. Mobley racked up four blocks, bringing his season total to 97 (sixth-most in the NBA). When the Blazers tried to rally in the fourth quarter, Mobley single-handedly shut them down. For six straight minutes, Portland failed to score a field goal. That defensive stand secured Cleveland’s 58th win of the season.</p><p>“He’s so talented,” said Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson. “It’s overwhelming. You see it in a game like that, especially against a younger team. He really turned it up tonight. Another Defensive Player of the Year performance in my mind.”</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley is letting his game and the Cavs’ defense speak for themselves</b></h2><p>Mobley, for his part, isn’t letting the noise get to him.</p><p>“All the guys believe in me, and I believe in myself,” Mobley said. “I’m not going to change or do anything different. Just be myself. I feel like the numbers and the things that aren’t necessarily tracked, I feel like I play a big part in those things. Some guys won’t even take shots just because I’m down there.</p><p>“I’m going to keep going out there and playing the best defense I can, and hopefully I get the award.”</p><p>And he should.</p><p>Mobley has been the best defender in the league all season long. The numbers support it. The eye test confirms it. His teammates swear by it. If voters reward anything other than sustained defensive dominance, they will have, as Tristan Thompson put it, “(expletive) it up.”</p><p>Draymond Green has had his moment. It’s Evan Mobley’s time now.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley, not Draymond Green, should be uncontested Defensive Player of the Year

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-rest-routine-before-playoffs-hits-evan-mobley-vs-spurs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ rest routine before playoffs hits Evan Mobley vs. Spurs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clevelands-rest-routine-before-playoffs-hits-Evan-Mobley-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ rest routine before playoffs hits Evan Mobley vs. Spurs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-26T16:53:29-07:00">March 26th, 4:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-26T16:53:29-07:00">March 26th, 4:53pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are grinding through one of their most exhausting stretches of the season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/darius-garlands-takeover-ended-donovan-mitchell-less-cavs-roadtrip-in-style">March has been merciless for Cleveland</a>—a month filled with constant travel, tough opponents, and little time to breathe. Even though their road trip is finally over, the schedule makers didn’t do the Cavs any favors, throwing one more curveball their way when hosting the San Antonio Spurs.</p><p>The Cavs are <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/cle/cleveland-cavaliers" rel="noopener">staring down the barrel</a> of a back-to-back, with the second game being a quick trip to Detroit to take on the surging Pistons. Given the circumstances, it’s no surprise that Cleveland is resting at least one key player against San Antonio.</p><p>That player? Evan Mobley.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/warriors-news-draymond-green-surpasses-evan-mobley-as-dpoy-betting-favorite">Cavs will be without their defensive anchor when they host the Spurs</a>. Mobley, who played in every game of the recent road trip, will sit out, with the team looking to rest him. Resting Mobley with the playoffs in mind has always been a focus for Cleveland. However, Mobley’s absence is more than just a lineup adjustment. Instead, it’s a stark reminder of how crucial he is to everything the Cavs do, especially on the defensive end.</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley’s impact goes beyond the score and so much more</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Evan-Mobley-celebrates-basket-Cavs-game.jpg"><figcaption>Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mobley’s impact goes beyond the box score. Sure, his season averages of 18.7 points and 9.4 rebounds are impressive, but the real story is on defense. He’s a human eraser, someone who can switch onto any position, block shots with ease, and make opponents second-guess their every move in the paint.</p><p>Cavs veteran Tristan Thompson, known for his knack for nicknames, has one for Mobley: “DPOY.”</p><p>That’s not just a catchy title. It’s a statement and a demand. Thompson has a message for those who vote on end-of-season awards, letting everyone know Mobley is this season’s best defensive player.</p><p>“Don’t (expletive) it up,” Thompson <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2025/03/should-be-a-no-brainer-cavs-send-strong-message-about-evan-mobleys-defensive-player-of-the-year-chances.html" rel="noopener">said to reporters</a>. “He is the key for us defensively. Able to guard 1-5. Alters shots. Blocks shots. In the passing lanes. Rule of verticality. Switches onto guards. He is able to do so much at that end of the court. Like I’ve always said, he is a young Anthony Davis. Ev is a nightmare defensively.”</p><p>Mobley’s dominance was on full display in Cleveland’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He tied his season-high with four blocks, bringing his total to 97—sixth-most in the league. When the Blazers tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, Mobley slammed the door shut, anchoring a defense that held Portland without a field goal for over six minutes. That defensive stand propelled Cleveland to its 58th win of the season.</p><p>“He’s so talented,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Mobley. “It’s overwhelming, and you see it in a game like that, especially against a younger team. He really turned it up tonight. Another Defensive Player of the Year performance in my mind.”</p><h2><b>The Cavs could also be without Ty Jerome against the Spurs</b></h2><p>While the Cavs will be without Evan Mobley against the Spurs, they might also be missing a key bench piece. Ty Jerome, who has provided valuable minutes as a floor-spacing guard and secondary playmaker, is officially listed as questionable with knee soreness. His status will likely be determined closer to tipoff, making him a game-time decision for Cleveland.</p><p>Jerome has given the Cavs an added offensive spark off the bench. His ability to knock down open shots and facilitate the offense allows the team to maintain rhythm when Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell rest. With Mobley already sidelined, Cleveland would prefer to have all available hands on deck, but Jerome’s availability remains up in the air.</p><p>If Jerome is unable to go, the Cavs will likely lean more on Sam Merrill and Isaac Okoro for additional backcourt minutes. Merrill, in particular, has thrived in a spot-up shooting role, while Okoro’s versatility allows him to take on more defensive responsibilities.</p><p>With a tough back-to-back looming, the Cavs will have to carefully manage their rotation. Whether or not Jerome suits up, Cleveland will need to dig deep against a Spurs team looking to play spoiler.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ rest routine before playoffs hits Evan Mobley vs. Spurs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/betting/warriors-news-draymond-green-surpasses-evan-mobley-as-dpoy-betting-favorite');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Draymond Green surpasses Evan Mobley as DPOY betting favorite');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Warriors-news-Draymond-Green-surpasses-Evan-Mobley-as-DPOY-betting-favorite.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Draymond Green surpasses Evan Mobley as DPOY betting favorite</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-25T23:12:09-07:00">March 25th, 11:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-25T23:12:09-07:00">March 25th, 11:12pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The race for the 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award is heating up, and it remains very much wide open with around 10 games remaining in each team’s regular season campaign. Many have been making their case, with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-trae-young-drops-firm-dpoy-take-on-dyson-daniels-after-milestone">Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels being the fan favorite</a> to take home the award against other worthy candidates such as Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green and Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.</p><p>According to the latest odds on FanDuel, however, Daniels is not the favorite to bag the 2025 DPOY award. It is Green <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=awards" rel="noopener">who is favored</a> to take home the acclaim, as he is currently a -135 favorite on the aforementioned sportsbook. Mobley, who has been favored to win for most of the season, fell behind the Warriors forward in the latest odds update (+105), while the Hawks guard has now become a +1500 underdog for the award.</p><p>Rounding out the top five of betting favorites to win DPOY are Luguentz Dort (+3000) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (+3000), both of whom have been playing an instrumental role in propping up the defenses of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively.</p><p>Of course, being the betting favorite doesn’t mean that voters will view things the same way. Green may be playing a huge role in the Warriors’ better run as of late, but with there being no standout defender on the league’s most elite defenses, this could pave the way for the 35-year-old forward to win the second DPOY award of his career. At the moment, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/warriors-news-draymond-green-speaks-dpoy-chances-existence-latest-betting-odds">Warriors have a better defensive rating</a> than that of Mobley’s Cavs, which could be a key factor in how the voters decide.</p><p>With Victor Wembanyama being ineligible for awards after being unable to play in the minimum number of games, the DPOY race will be something to track until the end of the season, as things can still change from now until then.</p><h2><b>2025 DPOY race lacks precedent, could open up win for Warriors’ Draymond Green</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Draymond-and-strength-in-numbers.jpg"><figcaption>John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>DPOY award voters are typically inclined to select the player they believe are most deserving of the trophy based on how their individual defense elevates the entire team’s performance on that end of the floor. Typically, this means that the winners of the award are on teams that boast a top-five defense in the NBA (according to defensive rating) at the minimum. Perhaps this year is when that trend stops, paving the way for Draymond Green to win the award.</p><p>At the moment, the Warriors and Cavs rank outside the top-five in defensive rating (seventh and eighth respectively). The last player to win a DPOY award while playing for a team without a top-five defense is Marcus Camby, who did so for a Denver Nuggets team that <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense?Season=2006-07&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">ranked 12th</a> in defense back in 2007.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Draymond Green surpasses Evan Mobley as DPOY betting favorite

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-stone-faced-james-harden-evan-mobley-goes-viral');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s stone-faced reaction to James Harden cooking Evan Mobley goes viral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kawhi-Leonards-stone-faced-reaction-to-James-Harden-cooking-Evan-Mobley-goes-viral.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s stone-faced reaction to James Harden cooking Evan Mobley goes viral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-19T09:28:46-07:00">March 19th, 9:28am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-19T09:28:46-07:00">March 19th, 9:28am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers got a big win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home, losing 132-119. Though he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/clippers-news-james-harden-still-isnt-tired-after-dropping-50-points-on-pistons">James Harden was a big reason</a> for their win, finishing with 22 points and nine assists, but he also may have had the <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1902360428115632390" rel="noopener">highlight of the night</a>.</p><p>Late in the third quarter, James got Evan Mobley switched onto him. Though Mobley may be the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, switching on somebody with moves like Harden can be dangerous. Mobley took the challenge, and Harden began to break him down with an array of moves. Harden then blew past him for the layup, which got him and the bench jumping up in amazement. Well, most of the bench.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Harden turned Evan Mobley into a training cone 😲<a href="https://t.co/grVAkRTG4Y">pic.twitter.com/grVAkRTG4Y</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1902216822986043877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>As you look at all the shocked faces on the bench, you then see Leonard’s face, and there’s no excitement. That’s pretty much on brand for Leonard, who doesn’t show emotion very much when something exciting happens.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard finding a groove at the right time for Clippers</b></h2><p>Leonard was the leading scorer in the game, finishing with 33 points and shooting 12-for-19 from the field.</p><p>Just last week, Leonard had all the excitement in the world after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-james-hardens-hyped-reactions-to-game-winner-vs-kings">hitting the game-winning shot</a> against the Sacramento Kings. Since it wasn’t a big shot of that magnitude, Leonard probably saw it as another nice play for Harden.</p><p>The Clippers are starting to roll with not many games left in the regular season, and the most important part is making sure that Leonard is healthy and ready to go. Over the past few years, the postseason hasn’t been kind to Leonard, and he’s suffered injuries around the same time. This season, Leonard has one goal.</p><p>“My goal is to be healthy at the end of the season so I can have a good summer and not worry about doing a whole rehab process again and missing training camp,” Leonard said after their win against the Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s stone-faced reaction to James Harden cooking Evan Mobley goes viral

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-return-boost-clippers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley returns in pivotal matchup against Clippers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cavs-news-Evan-Mobley-returns-to-boost-team-in-pivotal-matchup-against-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley returns in pivotal matchup against Clippers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T19:44:12-07:00">March 18th, 7:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T19:44:12-07:00">March 18th, 7:44pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the NBA’s biggest revelations this season. They’ve stormed through the league and cemented themselves as a legitimate title contender. But as it is for most teams, a familiar adversary threatened to slow the Cavs down: injuries.</p><p>Evan Mobley, the Cavs’ <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/10-players-in-hunt-kia-defensive-player-of-year-2025" rel="noopener">defensive anchor and rising two-way star</a>, has been sidelined with a right foot contusion. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-could-be-without-two-stars-against-magic">The injury forced him to miss Cleveland’s recent game</a> against the Orlando Magic. The Cavs’ depth has carried them through adversity before. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-streak-snapped-magic-defense">Mobley’s absence was glaring in their 104-97 loss</a>. His ability to protect the rim, facilitate the offense, and provide a reliable interior scoring presence is irreplaceable. Without him, the Cavs struggled to generate consistent offense when their three-point shooting sputtered.</p><p>The good news? Against the LA Clippers, Mobley’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/cavaliers-clippers-prediction-odds-pick-spread-3-18-2025">back in action for the Cavs</a>.</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley is back for the Cavs against the Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Evan-Mobley-drives-Cavs-Clippers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After being listed as questionable against the Clippers, Mobley cleared pregame warmups without setbacks and was officially inserted into the starting lineup. While Cleveland has been cautious with player injuries all season long, the decision to activate Mobley signals that he’s fully recovered and ready to make an impact.</p><p>And make an impact he must.</p><p>The Cavs have lost 11 games this season, with four of those losses coming in contests Mobley has missed. That includes a matchup against the Miami Heat, where he exited early with an ankle sprain, leaving Cleveland scrambling to fill the defensive void.</p><p>When he’s on the court, however, the Cavs transform into a different beast entirely. Mobley is averaging 19.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks over his last 10 appearances, proving himself as not just a key contributor but a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. His presence on the floor allows Cleveland to suffocate opposing offenses, swarm the paint, and dictate the pace of the game.</p><p>That level of defensive versatility is particularly crucial against a team like the Clippers, who boast a potent offensive duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Without Mobley, the Cavaliers would have had to rely heavily on Jarrett Allen, De’Andre Hunter, Dean Wade, and Tristan Thompson to manage frontcourt minutes. While those players have stepped up in stretches, Mobley’s ability to switch onto perimeter players, protect the rim, and create transition opportunities is irreplaceable.</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley will help stabilize Cleveland’s offense</b></h2><p>Mobley’s return helps stabilize Cleveland’s offensive approach. When the Cavs’ perimeter shooting runs cold, they rely on Mobley’s touch to keep the scoreboard moving. Mobley’s chemistry with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell has helped elevate Cleveland’s offensive efficiency, making them one of the best-scoring teams in the NBA. That inside-out balance is essential as the team gears up for the postseason, where defensive intensity rises and easy buckets become harder to find.</p><p>That’s why the decision to bring Mobley back wasn’t taken lightly. Cleveland’s coaching staff and medical team have been methodical about player recovery. They know that their ultimate goal isn’t just regular-season wins. It’s playoff success. If there had been even a sliver of doubt about Mobley’s readiness, the Cavs would have held him out another game.</p><p>For Mobley, though, the timing couldn’t be better. With the playoffs looming, he can re-establish himself as one of the league’s premier defenders. The Clippers provide an immediate test. But beyond that, the next few weeks will be crucial for Mobley to regain full rhythm and conditioning ahead of a grueling postseason run.</p><p>There’s no denying that Cleveland is built to withstand adversity. They’ve proven it time and again this season. But with Mobley back in the fold, their ceiling is undeniably higher. As he takes the floor against the Clippers, one thing is clear. The Cavs aren’t just looking to survive without him anymore. They’re ready to thrive with him leading the charge.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley returns in pivotal matchup against Clippers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/gaming/nba-2k25-march-player-ratings');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA 2K25 March Player Ratings – Steph Curry, Evan Mobley Rise');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NBA-2K25-March-Player-Ratings-Steph-Curry-Evan-Mobley-Rise.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA 2K25 March Player Ratings – Steph Curry, Evan Mobley Rise</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-07T06:28:09-08:00">March 7th, 6:28am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-07T06:28:09-08:00">March 7th, 6:28am</time><address><a>Massimo Marchiano</a>Massimo Marchiano is part of ClutchPoints' Gaming team, specializing in Sports Video Games. He's also the published author of "Dawkin: A Tall Tale", a sci-fi western novel. When he's not writing about cowboys and aliens, he's watching his favorite Philly Sports team lose (or winning with them himself in his favorite video games).</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The new <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-2k25-review">NBA 2K25</a> Player Ratings have dropped for the month of March, with players like Stephen Curry and Evan Mobley receiving significant boosts to their OVR. Several other players on each team all received an adjustment to their OVR, and we’ll go over the biggest changes. Without further ado, let’s check out the NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Update for the month of march.</p><h2><b>Steph Curry, Evan Mobley Shine in NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Update For March, 2025</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The newest <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2KRatings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2KRatings</a> just dropped! 🚨</p><p>What's your take on these latest OVR updates? 📈 <a href="https://t.co/Dbv8MwiqqY">pic.twitter.com/Dbv8MwiqqY</a></p><p>— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1897738974619218229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Firstly, we’ll go over some of the biggest winners in this player ratings update.</p><p>Firstly, Warriors’ superstar Stephen Curry still continues to be one of the best in the league. And now with Jimmy Butler, the Warriors are creeping their way up the Western Conference Standings. The team has gone 8-2 in their last 10 contests, and Curry has averaged nearly 30 points per game since the All-Star Break. Overall, <b>Curry’s rating is now a 96 in NBA 2K25.</b></p><p>Furthermore, Cavaliers’ PF Evan Mobley is now a <b>92 OVR in NBA 2K25 after the March Ratings Update</b>. He received +3 to his overall rating as he’s helped the Cavs possess the best record in the league (currently). Additionally, he’s also the current favorite to win the DPOTY award, an award he’ll earn if he continues to play well. But Mobley’s biggest concern right now is probably winning it all with this dominant Cavs team</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA 2K25 March Player Ratings – Steph Curry, Evan Mobley Rise

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/evan-mobleys-path-defensive-player-of-the-year');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Evan Mobley’s path to Defensive Player of the Year has become clear');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-Evan-Mobleys-path-to-Defensive-Player-of-the-Year-has-become-clear.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Evan Mobley’s path to Defensive Player of the Year has become clear</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-05T13:50:14-08:00">March 5th, 1:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-05T13:50:14-08:00">March 5th, 1:50pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Throughout the course of the 2024-25 NBA season, the only award that seemed to be a given was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/siegels-scoop-nba-awards-picks-2025-bold-predictions-after-all-star-break">Victor Wembanyama leading the way in the race for Defensive Player of the Year</a>. What many have overlooked is how Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley has been one of the most improved players in the league, especially in terms of his defense and impact on winning.</p><p>With about one month left in the season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/cavs-news-evan-mobley-jumps-jaren-jackson-jr-dpoy-betting-favorite">Mobley is now the heavy favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year award</a>. This has been a breakout season for the Cavaliers’ 23-year-old, and he is finally proving his worth after signing a five-year, $225 million contract extension over the summer.</p><p>Cleveland believed that Mobley could become a cornerstone of their franchise, and he is living up to the expectations he placed on himself before the 2024-25 season began.</p><p>Before the Cavs became the best team in the league and before they even took the court, Mobley made it his goal to achieve two things: become an All-Star and win the Defensive Player of the Year award.</p><p>Well, Cleveland is 51-10 ahead of a clash with the Miami Heat on Wednesday in large part because of Mobley’s contributions, and he was recently named one of three All-Stars from this team next to Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.</p><p>The only personal goal Mobley has left to achieve is winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, and his path to doing so doesn’t appear to have any obstacles in the way. This is especially true now that Mobley’s competitors have effectively dropped out of the race.</p><h2><b>Victor Wembanyama, Jaren Jackson Jr. open the door</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Victor-Wembanyama-vs.-Jaren-Jackson-Jr.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>On the verge of clinching a playoff spot in their 62nd game of the season, Mobley and the Cavs are continuing to evolve every time they take the floor.</p><p>Just one season ago, there were a lot of questions being asked about Mobley’s commitment to growth in Cleveland and what his long-term role would be. After being named to the All-Defensive team during the 2022-23 season, the Cavs big man took a step in the wrong direction as a result of injury concerns that limited him to only 50 appearances last year.</p><p>Even so, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-new-role-evan-mobley">Cleveland still believed in his abilities with Kenny Atkinson taking over</a> on the sidelines. The result — Mobley became one of the best two-way frontcourt players in the entire NBA.</p><p>The spotlight of Defensive Player of the Year has been cast on Mobley for several reasons. Outside of the fact that he is among the best rim protectors in the league and the anchor of the Cavs’ defense, Mobley has seen his competition vanish on the injury report.</p><p>Wembanyama, the sure-thing Defensive Player of the Year candidate entering the All-Star break, played in 46 games before being <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-out-season-with-blood-clot">ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a deep vein thrombosis</a> in his right shoulder. Since he did not play a minimum of 65 games, the San Antonio Spurs star does not qualify for end-of-season honors.</p><p>With Wembanyama out of the equation, Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. appeared to be favored to win his second Defensive Player of the Year award. That is no longer the case after Jackson suffered a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/memphis-grizzlies/grizzlies-news-dealt-tough-jaren-jackson-jr-injury-update">Grade 2 left ankle sprain and is week-to-week</a> with only about five weeks left in the regular season.</p><p>Jackson has played 59 total games and would need to play at least six more times this season to qualify for end-of-season honors.</p><p>As good as Wemby and Jackson have been defensively this season, their injuries shouldn’t discredit the season Mobley has had. After all, the Cavs big man isn’t going to win the Defensive Player of the Year award <i>solely</i> because he is third in line.</p><p>Cleveland is as good as they are, and suddenly the top team in the Eastern Conference over the defending champion Boston Celtics, not only because of how well Mitchell, Garland, and Jarrett Allen have been on offense but also because of how Mobley has improved on both sides of the floor over the last year.</p><h2>How Evan Mobley’s defense has evolved</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Evan-Mobley-block-.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?DateFrom=02/01/2025&amp;DateTo=03/05/2025&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">Since the start of February</a>, the Cavs own the third-best defensive rating in the NBA. In this same span, Mobley has averaged 2.2 blocks per game, sixth-most in the league, and he’s the main reason for Cleveland’s defensive dominance.</p><p>The fact of the matter is that when Mobley plays and is on the court, the Cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Without him, this team has gaps that teams look to expose on the interior.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-bold-claim-defensive-player-of-the-year">Atkinson has recognized his young player’s growth</a> this season, and the Cavs head coach made it clear that Mobley has been an X-factor this season with the way he has taken that next step in his career.</p><p>“I’ve said this to Evan—your next step is believing you have all of the tools,” Atkinson told reporters before a recent win over the Knicks. “There’s a belief with these guys … they just have this almost irrational confidence. Evan is not a not-confident person, but we need to get him to be a little more irrational. A little more, ‘Man, I’m going to be this guy.’ I think that’s his next step. All the tools are there.”</p><p>Regarding Mobley’s mindset and the Defensive Player of the Year award, the first-time All-Star knows this award is his to lose at this juncture.</p><p>“I’m definitely looking forward and looking towards winning that,” Mobley stated, via ClutchPoints’ Evan Dammarell. “I mean, the main thing is winning games, right?</p><p>“Hopefully, get to the championship before all that, but that’s definitely been on my mind.”</p><p>If he seizes the Defensive Player of the Year award, this would be the confirmation that Cleveland has wanted regarding the gamble they took on Mobley.</p><p>Although his first three seasons in the league were solid, Mobley had yet to take that next step in his career and fully define himself as a core player next to Mitchell, Garland, and Allen. That is one of the reasons why Cleveland was so heavily involved in trade rumors about some part of their roster changing over the summer.</p><p>Despite all the outside attention and noise, the Cavs believed in Mobley and the talent around him. Atkinson’s arrival and using his learning experiences through the years have unlocked new potential in Mobley, allowing him to become the All-Star and soon-to-be Defensive Player of the Year he’s been this season.</p><p>Of course, there is also a revenge factor motivating Mobley since he finished third behind Brook Lopez and Jackson for the award during the 2022-23 season.</p><p>Mitchell is the star of the Cavs and puts them in a position to contend. Garland and Allen are the stabilizers that have allowed this team to be winning threats each and every night. What makes Mobley special and different from his teammates is that he will determine just how far Cleveland can go in the playoffs.</p><p>Between his size, defensive abilities, and offensive skill, Mobley is the ultimate X-factor in the Cavs’ championship pursuit.</p><h2><b>Defensive Player of the Year could complicate Cavs’ finances</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cavs-Evan-Mobley-reacting-to-shot-.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Winning a championship is the only thing on the minds of everyone associated with the Cavaliers.</p><p>This team finds themselves on an 11-game win streak entering Wednesday, and they are <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1897372321704489079" rel="noopener">just one of four teams in league history</a> to achieve such a streak three different times in the same season.</p><p>The Los Angeles Lakers (1999-00) were the only team to go on to win a title after having three win streaks of 11 or more games, as the Dallas Mavericks (2006-07) and Houston Rockets (2017-18) didn’t even make the NBA Finals.</p><p>Cleveland has excellent balance on both sides of the basketball and excellent depth to go along with the All-Stars in their starting lineup. They will undoubtedly be title favorites when the playoffs begin.</p><p>Regardless of how the Cavs perform in the playoffs, this organization has gone all-in financially.</p><p>Garland and Mitchell are both under contract through the 2027-28 season. Allen won’t be a free agent until the following season, and newly acquired forward De’Andre Hunter has two more seasons left on his current contract. Mobley reached an extension with the Cavaliers before this past summer, a deal that will be impacted by his upcoming Defensive Player of the Year honor.</p><p>His contract is worth at least $224 million and will increase to $269 million should he take home the end-of-season honor, which appears to be a given. That $45 million difference will instantly increase Cleveland’s overall payroll, making it extremely difficult for them to remain below the second apron.</p><p>At the same time, isn’t this kind of what the Cavs want since their players’ contracts hitting certain incentive marks and increasing directly results in winning? This core of Mitchell, Garland, Allen, and Mobley has been arguably the best in the league all season, and they have the two-way prowess to be a legitimate championship threat over the Celtics in the East.</p><p>Although their financial situation could become complicated by Mobley’s expected Defensive Player of the Year honor, the Cavaliers find themselves in a position they’ve long wanted to be in without LeBron James carrying the team.</p><p>For once, Cleveland has built their own identity outside of James, starting on defense with Mobley. At 23 years old, Mobley has proven to be the Cavs’ most valuable player and potentially the reason they find themselves contending for the Larry O’Brien Trophy a few months from now.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Evan Mobley’s path to Defensive Player of the Year has become clear

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-evan-mobley-make-nba-history');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley make NBA history during dominant stretch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Cavs-news-Cleveland-stars-Donovan-Mitchell-Evan-Mobley-make-NBA-history-during-dominant-stretch.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley make NBA history during dominant stretch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-04T18:41:05-08:00">March 4th, 6:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-04T18:41:05-08:00">March 4th, 6:41pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are surging and their stars are making history. Donovan Mitchell has been named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February, the third time he’s earned the honor in his career and the second Eastern Conference honors since arriving in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Cavs big man Evan Mobley is staking his claim as the league’s premier defender. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-bold-claim-defensive-player-of-the-year">Mobley became the first player in NBA history</a> to win multiple Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month awards, a milestone that puts him in <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/monthly-nba-awards-february-2025" rel="noopener">rare company among all-time greats</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-cleveland-championship-contenders-win-celtics">Cavs were nearly unstoppable in February</a>. They finished the month with a dominant 10-1 record as they hold at the top of the Eastern Conference. At the heart of that success is Mitchell, who averaged 25.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in just 30.5 minutes per game.</p><p>Mitchell’s efficiency was off the charts. In February, he shot 49.8% from the field and 38.1% from three on high volume. Mitchell’s ability to take over games was on full display. He punctuated his stellar month with a 41-point masterpiece against the East-leading Boston Celtics, reminding the league that when the lights shine brightest, he’s more than ready to deliver.</p><p>Mitchell’s dominance hasn’t always been the biggest storyline in Cleveland this season, but that’s a testament to just how deep and talented this Cavs team has become. Darius Garland is rounding back into All-Star form, Jarrett Allen continues to be a force inside, and Ty Jerome has emerged as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. But while the supporting cast has been exceptional, it’s Mitchell’s superstar presence that has propelled Cleveland into true contender status.</p><h2><b>Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley were dominant for the Cavs in February</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Donovan-Mitchell-and-Evan-Mobley-celebrate-Cavs.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>And then there’s Evan Mobley, a defensive anchor unlike any other in the NBA today. The 22-year-old big man has now claimed two of the last three Defensive Player of the Month awards (December and February), making a statement that he’s not just one of the best defenders in the league, he might be the absolute best.</p><p>Mobley’s combination of length, agility, and basketball IQ allows him to shut down elite scorers, protect the rim, and switch onto perimeter threats with ease. With his latest honor, he’s emerging as the clear frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, a feat that would put him in the company of Cavs legends like LeBron James and Mark Price as one of the youngest players to ever win a major NBA award.</p><p>Cleveland’s dynamic duo is proving to be the perfect balance of offense and defense. Mitchell is the electric scorer capable of taking over any game. While Mobley is the dominant defender who can single-handedly alter an opponent’s entire game plan. Together, they are shaping the Cavs into a team that can compete with anyone, anywhere.</p><p>At 50-11, Cleveland is chasing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Their combination of firepower and defensive prowess makes them a nightmare matchup come playoff time. The pieces are all in place for something special. What makes it even more special is that it all starts with Mitchell and Mobley leading the way.</p><p>Meanwhile, out West, LeBron James continues to defy time, taking home Western Conference Player of the Month honors for the Los Angeles Lakers. As he nears an unfathomable 50,000 career points, his legacy only grows stronger. However, there will never be another LeBron — so don’t take these moments for granted.</p><p>But in Cleveland, LeBron James is in the past. Instead, the future is now. The Cavs aren’t just a great team. They’re building something special. With Mitchell and Mobley at the center of it all, this could be just the beginning.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley make NBA history during dominant stretch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/betting/cavs-news-evan-mobley-jumps-jaren-jackson-jr-dpoy-betting-favorite');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley jumps Jaren Jackson Jr. as DPOY betting favorite');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Evan-Mobley-jumps-Jaren-Jackson-Jr.-as-DPOY-betting-favorite.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley jumps Jaren Jackson Jr. as DPOY betting favorite</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-25T13:01:50-08:00">February 25th, 1:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-25T13:04:44-08:00">February 25th, 1:04pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><i>ClutchPoints is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any way connected to any sportsbook. Gambling is not offered on this website in any form.</i></p><p>The 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year race is heating up, which now has a new leader between the Memphis Grizzlies’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/grizzlies-news-jaren-jackson-jr-emerges-dpoy-betting-favorite-after-victor-wembanyama-injury">Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley</a>.</p><p>Mobley has overtaken Jackson Jr. for the <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=awards" rel="noopener">top spot in the latest odds</a> for the award, per FanDuel. Mobley leads as the odds stand at +130; Jackson Jr. is currently +135.</p><p>The star big men are in tight competition for the award since the San Antonio Spurs shut down Victor Wembanyama for the year last week. He was on pace to win before his season came to an end due to a blood clot.</p><p>Trailing Evan Mobley and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the race is Atlanta Hawks wing Dyson Daniels, followed by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort.</p><h2><b>What’s next for Evan Mobley, Cavaliers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Evan-Mobley-jumps-Jaren-Jackson-Jr.-as-DPOY-betting-favorite-1.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With the Cleveland Cavaliers having the best record in the NBA, Evan Mobley being on pace to win DPOY this season is logical.</p><p>This season, Mobley is averaging 18.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game after 51 appearances. He is shooting 56.9% from the field, including 36.5% from beyond the arc. He has helped the Cavaliers boast the 10th-best scoring defense and the eighth-best defensive rating.</p><p>Cleveland boasts a 47-10 record on the season, commanding the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They lead the second-place Boston Celtics by six games, making their case as title contenders.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/cavaliers-vs-magic-prediction-odds-pick-spread-2-25-2025">Cavaliers prepare for their matchup</a> on Tuesday night, being on the road. They face the Orlando Magic with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley jumps Jaren Jackson Jr. as DPOY betting favorite

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-evan-mobley-pulls-off-wild-lebron-james-feat-in-heated-game-vs-grizzlies');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off wild LeBron James feat in heated game vs. Grizzlies');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAVS-NATION-Cavs-news-Evan-Mobley-pulls-off-wild-LeBron-James-feat-in-heated-game-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off wild LeBron James feat in heated game vs. Grizzlies</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-23T19:42:33-08:00">February 23rd, 7:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-23T19:42:33-08:00">February 23rd, 7:42pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints and Cavs Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-evan-mobley-reveals-biggest-difference-title-contenders">Evan Mobley put himself with some elite company</a> that features LeBron James following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.</p><p>In 36 minutes of action, Mobley finished with a stat line of 25 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks. He shot 10-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.</p><p>This performance was significant for Mobley, becoming the first Cavaliers player since James to <a href="https://x.com/statmuse/status/1893857435019850042" rel="noopener">reach those numbers in a game</a>, per StatMuse.</p><h2><b>How Evan Mobley’s Cavaliers performed vs Grizzlies</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Evan-Mobley-.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was a nail-biting day for Evan Mobley and the Cleveland Cavaliers, going down to the wire against the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><p>The Grizzlies put up a strong fight, having six players score in double-digits as they kept the Cavaliers on edge. However, Cleveland had enough offensive production to counter their opponent’s firepower, defend homecourt, and earn a solid win over a tough team from the Western Conference.</p><p><a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-reacts-donovan-mitchell-hilarious-troll-job">Donovan Mitchell led the way</a> with 33 points and six assists on 11-of-23 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown. Ty Jerome scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen had 13 points and 10 rebounds while De’Andre Hunter provided 12 points.</p><p>Cleveland improved to 47-10 on the season, maintaining control over the top spot of the Eastern Conference standings. They have a six-game advantage over the second-place Boston Celtics, building their case as potential title contenders this year.</p><p>Following Sunday’s win over the Grizzlies, marking their seventh straight, Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers prepare for their next matchup. They face the Orlando Magic on Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off wild LeBron James feat in heated game vs. Grizzlies

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-best-player-bold-claim');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs Evan Mobley doubles down on his bold claim about NBA’s next best player');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Evan-Mobley-doubles-down-on-bold-claim-about-NBAs-next-best-player.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs Evan Mobley doubles down on his bold claim about NBA’s next best player</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-21T17:15:18-08:00">February 21st, 5:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-21T17:15:18-08:00">February 21st, 5:15pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The quietest person in the room is often the most dangerous, and Cleveland Cavaliers’ rising star Evan Mobley is the perfect example of this. Over his first four years in the NBA, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-impact-2025-nba-all-star-game">Mobley’s quiet ascent to stardom</a> has been nothing short of impressive. As a player, he <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mobleev01.html" rel="noopener">dominates both ends of the court</a> without fanfare, helping transform the Cavs from a struggling Eastern Conference team into the best: a legitimate title contender.</p><p>No matter what, Mobley has always preferred to let his game speak for itself, which sometimes causes him to fly under the radar. Given <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-title-contention-javonte-green-addition">Cleveland’s roster filled with stars</a>, it’s easy for his remarkable skills—both physical and intangible—to be overlooked.</p><p>But what’s done in the shadows has a way of coming to light. As the Cavs cruised through the regular season with the league’s best record, even a player as reserved as Mobley couldn’t stay in the background for long.</p><p>At this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, Mobley was asked who he thought would be the league’s top player in five years. In a departure from his usual calm and measured responses, Mobley confidently declared, “Best player in five years? Maybe me or Victor [Wembanyama],” adding, “One of [us].”</p><p>This bold statement is just the latest reflection of Mobley’s self-belief, a trait that’s been evident since he was selected third overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Comparisons to Hall of Famers like Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, and Anthony Davis have followed him since day one.</p><p>As the Cavs returned from the All-Star break, Mobley wasn’t backing down from his claim. Instead, he’s doubling down, ensuring that the spotlight, which he once flew under, is now firmly on him.</p><h2><b>Cavs big man Evan Mobley doubled down on becoming the NBA’s best player</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Evan-Mobley-watching-game-Cavs-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>John Jones-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“I feel like if you don’t believe in yourself, how are you going to get there?” Mobley said after the Cavs dominated the Brooklyn Nets 110-97. “I believe in myself, I have the size, the skill set, and the stature. Why not believe in that?”</p><p>So, just how close does Mobley think he is to reaching his full potential?</p><p>“I don’t know,” he responded. “I feel like I have a lot of potential, and that’s my goal. I’m not focused on getting there today. I’m just taking it day by day.”</p><p>While Mobley remains focused on the journey, his teammates have no doubts about his arrival. Cavs star Darius Garland often calls Mobley a “unicorn.” Frontcourt partner Jarrett Allen credits Mobley’s defense for igniting Cleveland’s energy each game.</p><p>Even Donovan Mitchell revealed that Mobley played a big role in his decision to re-sign with the team. So, when Mobley speaks about his own game, his teammates are eager to back him up.</p><p>“Hell yeah,” Mitchell said with enthusiasm. “If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? I firmly believe he’ll be a top-five player when he hits his prime. He’s so close, he’s putting in the work, and even if the casual fan might not notice, we see it. He’s going to get there.”</p><p>Mitchell added, “I’ve been trying to get him to speak up for a while now. I’m glad he finally did. The next step for him is to do it every night. He’s got to be that guy consistently, no matter what. A comment like that shows us where he’s at mentally. Evan’s going to prove it on the court, game after game.”</p><p>With his teammates’ full support and confidence, Mobley is poised to continue his rise in the NBA.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
18.5	9.2	3.1	1.6	0.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
18.5	9.2	3.1	1.6	0.8

Evan Mobley news

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