<!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-evan-mobley-pulls-off-feat-not-done-lebron-james-2014');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off feat not done since LeBron James in 2014');   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/2025/10/Bucks-guard-Ryan-Rollins-drives-to-the-basket-against-Cavs-center-Evan-Mobley.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off feat not done since LeBron James in 2014</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-27T07:36:13-07:00">October 27th, 7:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-27T07:36:13-07:00">October 27th, 7:36am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-21-point-quarter-knicks">Cleveland Cavaliers did not have a great start</a> to their 2025-26 NBA campaign, as they lost to the New York Knicks in the Big Apple in their season opener last week, 119-111. However, the Cavs have since gotten up on their feet, as they followed that with two wins in a row.</p><p>After beating the Brooklyn Nets on the road, 131-124, last Friday, Evan Mobley and the Cavs defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland’s first home game of the season on Sunday via a score of 118-113.</p><p>Mobley played a big part in the Cavs’ successful takedown of the visiting Bucks, as he came up with 23 points. He was not particularly efficient with his shots from the floor, going only 5-for-13 on his field goal attempts, but the former USC Trojans star big man capitalized on the fouls he drew from Bucks defenders. Overall in the game, Mobley <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameId/401809962" rel="noopener">went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line</a> to match a feat last done by a Cavs player in 2014.</p><p>“Mobley was a career-best 12 for 12 on free throws along with eight rebounds and six assists. The last Cavaliers player to go perfect from the line when making 12 or more attempts was LeBron James on Nov. 5, 2014, against Utah. James was also 12 of 12,” shared by the Associated Press (h/T ESPN).</p><p>The 24-year-old Mobley inflicted most of his damage from the foul line on the Bucks in the final quarter. During that period, he scored eight points while going 6-for-6 on his freebies. He also finished the contest with eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in 34 minutes of all-around brilliance on the floor for Cleveland, which improved to 2-1.</p><p>As a team, the Cavaliers shot 28-of-35 from the free-throw line. Donovan Mitchell spearheaded Cleveland’s attack alongside Mobley, with the guard scoring 24 points to go with four assists.</p><p>Now in his fifth year in the NBA, Mobley is <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-brian-windhorst-major-evan-mobley-change">counted upon even more by the Cavs</a>, especially after he earned his first NBA All-Star nod during the 2024-25 season. So far in the 2025-26 campaign, Mobley is averaging 19.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists.</p><p>Coming up next for Cleveland is a game against another division rival in the form of the Detroit Pistons this Monay on the road.cavs</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley pulls off feat not done since LeBron James in 2014

<!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-brian-windhorst-major-evan-mobley-change');   ga('set', 'title', 'Brian Windhorst preps fans for major Cavs’ Evan Mobley change');   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/2025/10/Evan-Mobley-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Brian Windhorst preps fans for major Cavs’ Evan Mobley change</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-22T10:12:39-07:00">October 22nd, 10:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-22T10:12:39-07:00">October 22nd, 10:12am</time><address><a>Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>ESPN insider Brian Windhorst <a href="https://x.com/ESPNCleveland/status/1981030792953274531" rel="noopener">believes a major change is coming</a> for Cleveland Cavaliers star Evan Mobley, and the rest of the NBA should take notice.</p><p>“Evan Mobley has shown us he is an All-NBA player and NBA Defensive Player of the Year,” Windhorst said. “He is still very young. There is no reason to keep a limit on his ability. What they’re asking him to do more of at the beginning of the year, especially with Darius Garland out, is to be more of a playmaker on offense. The ball is going to be in his hands more, and they did it because they believe he can handle it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The ball is going to be in his hands more, and they did it because they think he can handle it," – <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a> on Evan Mobley. <a href="https://t.co/klcJiElzYU">pic.twitter.com/klcJiElzYU</a></p><p>— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNCleveland/status/1981030792953274531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That confidence reflects how the <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-what-gm-koby-altman-is-really-excited-about-in-championship-quest">Cavs are preparing to unleash</a> the 24-year-old forward in ways that extend far beyond defense. Mobley, who averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists last season, is expected to take on a <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-evan-mobley-dominates-with-two-way-mastery-vs-heat">central offensive role for the Cavs</a> under head coach Kenny Atkinson.</p><p>Atkinson said Mobley’s growth has been “tremendous” and noted that he has been one of the team’s best shooters during camp.</p><p>“You can sense another jump coming from him,” Atkinson said. “He’s playing with more force and confidence. His strength and shooting are both on another level.”</p><h2><b>The Cavs will go as far as Evan Mobley can carry them</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Evan-Mobley-2.jpg"><figcaption>Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mobley spent the offseason adding size and refining his ball handling. With Garland recovering from toe surgery, Cleveland’s offense will flow through him more often.</p><p>“You’re definitely going to see the ball in my hands a lot more,” Mobley said. “With guys out, we need people to step up, and I have that capability.”</p><p>President of basketball operations Koby Altman echoed that sentiment, calling Mobley “locked in” and predicting another leap forward. “He can be a top-five player in this league,” Altman said. “We go as he goes.”</p><p>Windhorst’s remarks only reinforce what many around the Cavs already believe: Mobley is ready to transform from a defensive anchor into an all-around superstar. As Cleveland opens its season against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, fans may soon witness the next great chapter in Mobley’s rise.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Brian Windhorst preps fans for major Cavs’ Evan Mobley change

<!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-training-camp-observations-evan-mobley-deandre-hunter');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs training camp observations: Evan Mobley’s next step, De’Andre Hunter standing out');   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/2025/09/Cavs-training-camp-observations-Mobleys-next-step-Hunter-standing-out.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Image</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs training camp observations: Evan Mobley’s next step, De’Andre Hunter standing out</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-30T17:40:05-07:00">September 30th, 5:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-30T17:40:05-07:00">September 30th, 5:40pm</time><address><a href="https://spindavies.myportfolio.com/home">Spencer Davies</a>Spencer Davies has covered the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a credentialed reporter for over a decade. His work has appeared on Basketball News, Bleacher Report, USA Today, FOX Sports, HoopsHype, CloseUp360, FanSided, and Basketball Insiders, among others. In addition to his journalistic experience, he has been a senior editor, a digital production assistant, a social media manager, a sports radio anchor, and a producer.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-darius-garland-max-strus-positive-injury-updates-provide-hope-media-day">fun-filled start to the week at Media Day back home</a>, the Cleveland Cavaliers got to business on Tuesday afternoon at IMG Academy.</p><p>“I think our buildup to this, with guys coming in early on their own, it makes this transition to training camp easier,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson told a handful of reporters who made the trip to Bradenton, Florida. “We don’t have to overdo it right off the bat. Guys have been working and conditioning leading up to this, so, a good day. We didn’t scrimmage today. Probably get to that tomorrow.”</p><p>ClutchPoints will be on-site for the first three days of <a href="https://x.com/SpinDavies/status/1973097355663593889">Cavs training camp</a> in Bradenton, Florida, and highlight the most notable storylines of each day.</p><p>Here is what stood out on Day 1:</p><h2><b>A stronger Evan Mobley opens a world of possibilities</b></h2><p>Atkinson’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/kenny-atkinson-declaring-cavs-championship-ready">expectations for Evan Mobley are through the roof</a>. Sometimes, if a coach says something that puts too much pressure on a blossoming player, it’ll get clarified or put more gently in hindsight. In this particular case, he’s doubling down on the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-NBA member.</p><p>“It’s pretty amazing at 24 years old, when you put all those accolades together, right? He’s not 28. <i>You’re 24</i>,” Atkinson said. “Maybe you can project better than me, but if you look at that, there’s other things out there that he can be in the conversation for. And I think we will see, you guys will observe the early part of the season, but it seems to me like he’s going to make another jump. I keep saying that. It just feels that way.”</p><p>Despite what the training camp roster list indicates, a league source told ClutchPoints that Mobley is now around 226 pounds.</p><p>With more added strength, Atkinson wants to see Mobley consistently play with more force. He is excited about his potential as a ball-handler, but doesn’t want the seven-footer to get away from being a big man.</p><p>“The challenge for me: I love perimeter Evan. I love it. But I also love interior Evan,” Atkinson said. “I thought last year we did a good job of finding that balance. I think the hardest to guard is if you can do both really well. That’s your complete player. I want to continue to find that balance with him.”</p><p>It’s also understood that opposing teams will try to take away the ball from the Cavs’ guards, so he’ll have to be ready for that too. Atkinson detailed the coaching staff’s specific plan to prepare Mobley for those scenarios.</p><p>“You have to be able to handle the ball in space, and then you’ve got to be able to go get us a bucket when we need a bucket,” Atkinson said. “They’re taking away our drive, kick, swing. They’re taking all our stuff away. Sometimes you’ve got to throw it to a guy, and he’s got to go get it.</p><p>“Those were two things we worked on, and we’re still working on. Today, we played a bunch of 1-on-1, elbow, mid-post. Just getting him in a little bit of a mentality of, ‘Hey, when we need a bucket, I can go get it for us.’”</p><p>According to Atkinson, Mobley has been one of Cleveland’s top 3-point shooters in the preseason. He is showing his development in driving off closeouts from that threat, an area of his game in which he showed some hesitation last season.</p><p>“Definitely stronger. He’s definitely more aggressive. He has confidence,” De’Andre Hunter added. “You can tell he’s putting in a lot of work. I’ve seen it this summer, I was working out with him. He’s gotten a lot better, us giving him confidence and the confidence he has in himself.</p><p>“I think he’s going to have a great year.”</p><h2><b>De’Andre Hunter should fit like a glove</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“He’s someone [that] you’ve really got to build his trust.”</p><p>De’Andre Hunter and Kenny Atkinson reflect on establishing a closer relationship with each other over the summer and how it’s helped with on-court communication. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/8SQYuGKmet">pic.twitter.com/8SQYuGKmet</a></p><p>— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1973032680834117981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Atkinson shared that Hunter’s willingness to open up to the Cavs is like “night and day.” They’re not making anything official anytime soon, but in all likelihood, the 27-year-old forward should wind up in the starting five.</p><p>ClutchPoints asked Hunter how he can complement Mobley and Jarrett Allen on each end of the floor.</p><p>“I think we’re going to help each other a lot defensively, being able to switch with those guys, it makes it easier for them,” Hunter responded. “They don’t have to worry about guarding the pick-and-roll as much as a big. So I just try to make it easy for them, they try to make it easy for me. And offensively, I mean, we’re still going to have to figure it out. I haven’t played with them for too long, so I’ve still got to figure out what they like, what they’re used to, but I think that’ll be easy.”</p><p>Posed the same question, Atkinson believes it should work “seamlessly” with the trio.</p><p>“Dre is really kind of perimeter oriented offensively. He can play behind the three, and he gives you great spacing the way he shoots the ball, so there’s no spacing issues there,” Atkinson said. “He gives you an isolation scorer, obviously. Then defensively, I know those three on the court, they defended pretty well, and they rebounded well. I’m excited to see what that looks like.  I think Dre is a good match with Sam (Merrill) and Don (Mitchell), too. They complement each other in a way.</p><p>“I haven’t committed to anything yet, but they’re going to get kind of first shot at what that looks like. I don’t see, ‘Well, it can’t work because of this.’ I haven’t seen negatives to it yet. But again, we’ve got to see more on the floor.”</p><p>Hunter also brought up being more vocal on his part as an area he’d like to be better at: “Max (Strus) is one of our vocal guys who might not be around for the first few months. TT [Tristan Thompson] was one of our more vocal guys as well. So I think I have to step into that role and help Don and help DG [Darius Garland] in that regard.”</p><h2><b>The Cavs are not going to rush Darius Garland back</b></h2><p>Garland had a 45-minute individual workout without contact on the first day of camp.</p><p>“He looked good in those 45 minutes,” Atkinson said. “He’s moving quickly in small spaces, attacking closeouts. No contact. No contact. I don’t want anybody to read too much into that. But definitely getting some good on-court work, individual work.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs training camp observations: Evan Mobley’s next step, De’Andre Hunter standing out

<!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-star-evan-mobley-brother-earns-new-professional-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs star Evan Mobley’s brother earns new professional contract');   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/2025/08/Cavaliers-forward-Isaiah-Mobley-15-drives-to-the-basket.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs star Evan Mobley’s brother earns new professional contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-11T19:33:40-07:00">August 11th, 7:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-11T19:33:40-07:00">August 11th, 7:33pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After three seasons in the NBA, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/editorials/cavs-why-isaiah-mobley-must-make-clevelands-roster">former Cleveland Cavaliers forward</a> and brother of Cavs star big man Evan Mobley, Isaiah Mobley, is headed overseas to <a href="https://x.com/manisabasket94/status/1954870415999881600" rel="noopener">continue his professional basketball career</a>.</p><p>The 25-year-old Mobley has signed with Turkish ball club Manisa Basket, the team announced in a post on social media.</p><p>“Our team has signed American power forward Isaiah Mobley, known for his NBA experience and versatile game,” Manisa wrote in a statement (translated via Grok) shared via social media platform X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>“We believe his basketball IQ and all-around skills will be a great asset to us. Welcome Isaiah!”</p><p>Mobley turned pro in 2022 when he entered that year’s NBA draft and got <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-isaiah-mobley-game-winning-double-poster-nba-g-league-pure-insanity">selected in the second round (19th overall) by the Cavs</a> — a year after Evan Mobley was taken in the first round (third overall) of the 2021 NBA draft by Cleveland. In two seasons with the Cavaliers, Isaiah Mobley appeared in only 22 games, averaging 2.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and posting a 46.6 effective field goal percentage.</p><p>Isaiah signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2024, and in a lone appearance for the Sixers in the 2024-25 NBA campaign, he scored six points, dished out five assists, grabbed four rebounds, recorded a steal and had a block in 17 minutes of action during a 122-102 loss at home against the visiting Chicago Bulls last April.</p><p>Manisa is coming offa disappointing season in which they won just 11 games agianst 19 losses. An anemic offense made it harder for the team to have success, as they were second-last in the Turkish league with just an average of 87.7 points per game. But their defense was among the best, holding opponents to only 88.9 points per outing — third-best overall.</p><p>While not known for his offense, Mobley can still be expected to contribute on that side of the floor for Manisa, given his NBA experience and likely higher usage on the floor. Before getting drafted by the Cavs, Mobley averged 14.2 points and shot 35.2 percent from behind the arc in his final college basketball season with the USC Trojans in the 2021-22 NCAA campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs star Evan Mobley’s brother earns new professional contract

<!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-donovan-mitchell-evan-mobley-earn-exclusive-honors-joining-lebron-james-and-kyrie-irving');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving with All-NBA honors');   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/2025/05/Donovan-Mitchell-and-Evan-Mobley-celebrate-Cavs.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving with All-NBA honors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-23T17:40:16-07:00">May 23rd, 5:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-23T17:55:01-07:00">May 23rd, 5:55pm</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 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/pacers-news-rick-carlisle-lit-admission-cavs-game-5-crowd">Cleveland Cavaliers may have exited the postseason</a> earlier than hoped, but they didn’t walk away from the year empty-handed. Sure, it still stings to watch the Eastern Conference Finals from their couch. However, the Cavs might have gained something just as valuable as playoff wins with the latest round of NBA awards: Undeniable validation of their core.</p><p>For the <a href="https://x.com/AmNotEvan/status/1926054916910448677" rel="noopener">first time in nearly a decade</a>, Cleveland <a href="https://x.com/AmNotEvan/status/1926054717483888797" rel="noopener">placed two players</a> on the All-NBA teams, a milestone that speaks volumes about the organization’s trajectory. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were the last Cavs teammates to pull off the feat, and now Cleveland has another dynamic duo to hang its hat on.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-bold-promise-next-season">Donovan Mitchell landed on the All-NBA First Team</a>, the pinnacle of personal achievement in the regular season, and Evan Mobley, meanwhile, followed with a Second Team selection, a rare feat for a player in just his fourth year, and<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-evan-mobley-joins-lebron-james-exclusive-list"> joins his All-Defensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors</a>.</p><p>This kind of recognition doesn’t happen by accident. And in Cleveland’s case, it’s not simply recognition for regular-season success. It’s a statement that what the Cavs are building, spearheaded by Mobley and Mitchell, could lead to a championship sooner rather than later.</p><h2><b>Donovan Mitchell stepping back allowed Evan Mobley, Cavs to thrive</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Donovan-Mitchell-and-Evan-Mobley-sit-Cavs.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mitchell, now firmly entrenched as the heartbeat of this team, didn’t arrive at this honor by inflating his stats or chasing headlines. This season, his game was sharper, smarter, and more mature. He balanced aggressiveness with composure, scoring with facilitation. He understood that leadership sometimes meant stepping back so others could step forward.</p><p>And no one stepped up more than Mobley.</p><p>The 23-year-old big man wasn’t just good. He was essential. Mobley expanded his offensive arsenal while maintaining the discipline and intelligence that make him one of the most adaptable defenders in the league. In just one season, he became the kind of player who doesn’t just fill roles. Instead, he became one who defines them.</p><p>Together, Mitchell and Mobley formed a duo that reshaped the Cavs’ identity. What began as a talented team with promise evolved into a unit led by two of the most complete players in the league.</p><p>For Mobley, that development wasn’t incidental. Mitchell’s intentional effort to involve Mobley more in the offense was a turning point. Early in the year, he asked the coaching staff for more time on the floor with Mobley, believing that success wouldn’t come unless the young forward grew into a star right alongside him.</p><p>“Donovan, a big reason why he re-signed, is Evan Mobley,” Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said. “… He said ‘I want to force feed Evan to make sure he’s going to be ready for the playoffs’ and that’s not going to stop.”</p><p>The growth that soon followed came quickly. From a breakout All-Star appearance to anchoring the frontcourt defensively, Mobley made the kind of jump that franchises dream of. His impact wasn’t always loud, but it was constant and respected across the league.</p><h2><b>Cleveland’s superstar duo got the recognition they deserve</b></h2><p>Recognition came in waves: All-Star, All-Defensive First Team, and finally, All-NBA Second Team. Yet, Mobley didn’t dwell on the honors. He viewed them the way great players do. Each award is a step towards greatness, not the final destination.</p><p>But the brilliance of this pairing isn’t just in the accolades. It’s in how they mesh. Mitchell brings fire, Mobley brings control. Mitchell delivers the knockout punches, Mobley grinds out the rounds. Their All-Star Weekend win in the Skills Challenge may have been played for fun, but it highlighted something deeper: chemistry rooted in trust and shared ambition.</p><p>The Cavaliers have seen a duo capable of rewriting the franchise’s story before in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. But unlike the LeBron-Kyrie era, this version is being built brick by brick, through sweat, patience, and belief in development.</p><p>The All-NBA selections reflect more than individual excellence. They represent a franchise on the rise, one no longer content with regular-season relevance. Cleveland is thinking bigger now. It has to. Because when Cleveland’s two best players are being recognized as among the league’s elite, the expectation shifts. From building toward something to the Cavs being ready for something.</p><p>Mobley is growing into the kind of star who makes winning a habit. Mitchell is proving he can lead without always needing the ball. And the front office knows the opportunity window isn’t just open. It’s widening.</p><p>The next step is clear: translate regular-season excellence into playoff dominance. That’s the only way banners get raised and why the Cavs aren’t chasing echoes of past glory. They’re charting a path toward something new. And with Mitchell and Mobley leading the charge, the future in Cleveland isn’t just a dream, it’s reality.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving with All-NBA honors

<!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-evan-mobley-joins-lebron-james-exclusive-list');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley joins LeBron James on exclusive All-Defensive list');   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/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-defends-Cavs-Pacers_5a59fd.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley joins LeBron James on exclusive All-Defensive list</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-22T11:41:26-07:00">May 22nd, 11:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-22T11:41:26-07:00">May 22nd, 11:41am</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>Evan Mobley’s 2024-25 season was the culmination of years of potential, patience, and promise finally crystallizing into something undeniable. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-rumors-the-evan-mobley-reason-cleveland-could-lose-ty-jerome">Crowned the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year</a> and named to the All-Defensive First Team <a href="https://x.com/AmNotEvan/status/1925613918350655907" rel="noopener">for the second time in his young career</a>, the 23-year-old big man has emphatically arrived as one of the league’s premier stoppers and as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-3-biggest-x-factors-pacers-series-2025-nba-playoffs">centerpiece of Cleveland’s championship aspirations</a>. Mobley also joins franchise legend LeBron James as one of the few Cavs players to earn multiple All-Defensive honors, further cementing his greatness.</p><p>Mobley was a foundational force behind the Cavs’ eighth-ranked defense. He averaged 1.6 blocks per game (6th in the league), grabbed 7.0 defensive rebounds per game (13th), and contested 10.4 shots nightly—third most among all players meeting the 70% games played threshold. The Cavs allowed just 111.8 points per 100 possessions overall, but when Mobley was on the court, that number plummeted to 108.6, which would’ve ranked second in the NBA.</p><p>Cleveland’s 64-18 regular-season record was the best in franchise history without LeBron James. And Mobley was at the heart of it, averaging a career-high 18.5 points on 55.7% shooting, while also contributing 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game. He was the only player in the league this year to tally at least 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 60 steals, and 100 blocks.</p><h2><b>The Cavs’ future rests on Evan Mobley’s shoulders</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-block-Cavs-Magic.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mobley’s Defensive Player of the Year award, secured with 35 first-place votes, was more than a personal milestone. It signaled that he’s no longer a player with promise, but one delivering on it. And while his offensive game remains a work in progress, the flashes have become more frequent. There’s improved footwork in the post, a softening jumper from the perimeter, and a budding comfort as a ball handler in transition.</p><p>But the Cavs don’t have the luxury of waiting for gradual improvement. With Donovan Mitchell eligible for free agency in two years and the franchise barreling into second-apron tax territory, internal growth isn’t just a development plan. It’s a necessity.</p><p>“This is a big offseason again for Evan,” Altman said. “We‘re going to go as a franchise, as Evan is going to go. And we‘ve had that conversation with Evan.”</p><p>That belief is shared internally and now publicly. Mobley’s five-year, $224 million extension, one that could balloon to $269 million, already feels like an investment made with the playoffs in mind. The Cavs aren’t just asking Mobley to become a star. They’re banking on him to become the superstar who tips a playoff series. The kind of force that forces opponents to rewrite their game plans.</p><p>Mitchell, Cleveland’s All-NBA guard and emotional heartbeat, did everything he could in the postseason, often to his physical limit. But even he understands the Cavs’ ceiling isn’t defined by his brilliance alone.</p><p>“We have a guy who is an All-NBA level talent,” Mitchell said of Mobley at his end-of-the-season media availability. ” [He will be a] top-5 player in the league one day, and he‘s continuing to grow into that.”</p><h2><b>Next season is critical for Cleveland’s success</b></h2><p>Unfortunately, the playoffs didn’t deliver that coronation. Mobley’s usage dropped, and his assertiveness flickered. However, the injury he battled through and the flashes he showed reaffirmed the vision. Next season isn’t about flirtation with greatness. It’s about owning it.</p><p>Mobley doesn’t have to be loud. He doesn’t need to lead with charisma or quotes. Instead, he needs to lead by being the anchor. By being the reason Cleveland wins games in April, May, and, hopefully, in June.</p><p>Because in today’s NBA economy, built around compressed timelines and luxury-tax penalties, bets on player growth are the only currency teams like the Cavs can afford to spend. There is no blueprint, no championship experience to lean on in Cleveland. They must forge their way. And Mobley must be the one to lead it.</p><p>The clock on Mitchell’s prime is ticking. The league’s financial system is closing in. But if Mobley continues this ascent, from Defensive Player of the Year to a playoff-tilting force, the Cavs might just win that bet.</p><p>Cleveland doesn’t need Mobley to be the best player in the NBA. They need him to believe he is.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley joins LeBron James on exclusive All-Defensive list

<!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/nba-stories/nba-rumors-bill-simmons-giannis-antetokounmpo-evan-mobley-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Bill Simmons ponders Giannis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley trade');   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/2025/05/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-defends-Evan-Mobley.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Bill Simmons ponders Giannis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-19T07:59:55-07:00">May 19th, 7:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-19T07:59:55-07:00">May 19th, 7:59am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Giannis <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/bucks-news-brian-windhorst-breaks-down-giannis-trade-interest-around-nba">Antetokounmpo trade rumors are already swirling</a> around the NBA world. Bill Simmons <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0hQXIKVCA&amp;t=3018s" rel="noopener">recently proposed</a> a possible Giannis for Evan Mobley trade on his podcast. Although Giannis is the better player, Simmons explained why the deal could make sense.</p><p>“Mobley for Giannis straight up, what do you think? We could do the deal on July 1st when Mobley’s kicker comes in,” Simmons said. “Straight up, he’s (Mobley) six and a half years younger, call it in right now.”</p><p>Giannis will turn 31 years old during the 2025-26 season. Mobley is only 23 years old and earned the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award this past season. Antetokounmpo, however, is a two-time MVP and an NBA champion.</p><p>“I think it’s a great trade and I don’t even know if you had to say one side has to throw in something else,” Simmons added. “Which team would you pick to have to throw something else in? Giannis is a better player, but Mobley is six and a half years younger.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-rumors-bobby-marks-claims-rockets-spurs-check-all-boxes-giannis-antetokounmpo-trade">Giannis is a candidate to be traded</a> in the offseason. The Bucks were eliminated early from the playoffs in 2025, and Antetokounmpo could be looking for a new team.</p><p>The Cavs enjoyed a terrific regular season but they failed to replicate their success in the postseason. Trading a 23-year-old star in Mobley seems unlikely, but the idea of having Giannis and Donovan Mitchell team up could appeal to Cleveland as they look for a way to build a championship contender.</p><p>Parting ways with Giannis Antetokounmpo would obviously be difficult for the Bucks as well. Milwaukee may be headed toward a rebuild, though. Evan Mobley could become a player to build around for the future. Many NBA teams have found recent success by building around centers, a strategy the Bucks would follow if they do end up acquiring Mobley.</p><p>This trade is just an idea at the moment. It will be intriguing to see if the Cavs and Bucks engage in trade discussions at some point this offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Bill Simmons ponders Giannis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley trade

<!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/cavaliers-news-kenyon-martin-rips-evan-mobley-injury-absences-pacers-series');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kenyon Martin rips Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley for injury absences in Pacers series');   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/2025/05/Cleveland-Cavaliers-guard-Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kenyon Martin rips Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley for injury absences in Pacers series</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-16T10:41:21-07:00">May 16th, 10:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-16T10:41:21-07:00">May 16th, 10:41am</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">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/cleveland-cavaliers-most-to-blame-for-playoff-series-flameout-vs-pacers">Cavaliers suffered a shocking second-round exit</a> in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. This drew significant criticism from Kenyon Martin.</p><p>Martin appeared on an episode of Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena Podcast” on Friday. He called out Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter for <a href="https://youtu.be/9-coGkHmAKU?t=225" rel="noopener">not fighting through the injuries</a> they had throughout the Cavaliers’ series against the Indiana Pacers.</p><p>“You don’t suit up bro, give me something? We’re already down Darius Garland, we know he ain’t healthy. We know this going into it, he missed Game 1. So him playing in Game 2 is slim and none. We’ve got to this point DeAndre Hunter, when you came in we started playing better. Evan Mobley we rely on you nightly, it ain’t just your points, it’s your defensive presence, it’s you being out there, it’s something that we could use. When they didn’t play in Game 2 I’m like, ‘Oh man they ain’t going to beat nobody, ain’t got no heart,’” Martin said at the 3:45 mark.</p><p>“If I’m Donovan Mitchell, I’m going to that mother f—-r like, ‘Yo, man we got to do something. Whoever you’ve got to go get, whoever you’ve got to get rid of.”</p><h2><b>What’s next for Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cleveland-Cavaliers-guard-Darius-Garland-and-guard-Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Kenyon Martin’s point is if both DeAndre Hunter and Evan Mobley were healthy enough to play in Game 3, why couldn’t they toughen it out and play Game 2. Hunter had a dislocated thumb from Game 1, and Mobley was out with a sprained ankle. Garland dealt with his toe injury that persisted from the first-round series against the Miami Heat.</p><p>Despite what Martin says, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/2-early-cleveland-cavaliers-trade-targets-2025-nba-offseason">Cavaliers have a lot of things to address</a> this offseason. They were dominant in the regular season, winning 64 games as head coach Kenny Atkinson won Coach of the Year. It was the franchise’s best season outside of the LeBron James era, meaning there is a lot to come for the squad.</p><p>However, they have some issues to iron out if they wish to get over the hump that is the second round. They haven’t reached the East Finals since James left in 2018, so Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers will be busy in retooling throughout the summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kenyon Martin rips Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley for injury absences in Pacers series

<!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-rally-behind-evan-mobleys-return-to-dominate-pacers-in-game-3-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs rally behind Evan Mobley’s return to dominate Pacers in Game 3 win');   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/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-dribbles-Cavs-Pacers1.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs rally behind Evan Mobley’s return to dominate Pacers in Game 3 win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-10T07:07:30-07:00">May 10th, 7:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-10T07:07:30-07:00">May 10th, 7:07am</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>In Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t just win a playoff game. Instead, it saw Evan Mobley and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-max-strus-power-dominant-game-3-win-over-pacers">Cavs rediscover who they are</a>.</p><p>With their season hanging in the balance and a daunting 2-0 series hole to climb out of, it wasn’t a high-flying dunk or a buzzer-beating three that changed everything. It was Mobley, elevating to meet Tyrese Haliburton at the rim and sending his shot back with force and purpose. In that moment, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-sheds-light-darius-garland-playing-through-injury">Cavs reconnected with the gritty</a>, defensively dominant version of themselves, and they didn’t look back.</p><p>Cleveland’s <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-ind-0042400203/box-score" rel="noopener">124-106 victory</a> in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals wasn’t just a response. It was a revival. And no one embodied that more than Mobley.</p><p>After missing Game 2 with a sprained ankle, Mobley returned and imposed his will with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks. However, for Mobley, it wasn’t just about filling the box score. It was about anchoring the defense, energizing the team, and making the kind of statement only a franchise cornerstone can.</p><p>“I mean, you saw Evan Mobley blocking shots on the glass, obviously his scoring, but just his presence down there with [Jarrett Allen], it just helps everybody,” said guard Donovan Mitchell, who poured in a game-high 43 points in yet another terrific playoff performance.</p><p>Mobley wasn’t the only Cavs player gutting through injury to be back on the floor. Darius Garland returned from a painful toe sprain that had sidelined him for four games, and De’Andre Hunter fought through a dislocated thumb. The trio’s availability was in question until just before tip-off. Head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted the decision came down to the wire.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess you just get adrenaline going and, listen, those guys — we were down 2-0,” Atkinson said. “It was kind of now or never.”</p><h2><b>The Cavs saw immediate results from their returning players</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Darius-Garland-dribbles-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The results were immediate. Cleveland opened the game on an 11-0 run, sparked by Mobley’s early block and capped by a Max Strus three. It wasn’t just a good start. The team that had steamrolled Miami in the first round and claimed the East’s top seed had returned, just in time.</p><p>Mobley was at the heart of it all. With his ankle still not fully healed, he admitted he could barely put weight on it earlier in the week. Regardless, he anchored a surprise 3-2 zone defense that disrupted Indiana’s rhythm and cooled off the previously red-hot Haliburton. The Pacers never recovered.</p><p>Garland’s impact was more subtle but still critical. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting and four turnovers, but his ability to handle the ball and set the tempo allowed Mitchell to focus on scoring, where he thrived.</p><p>Hunter added eight points and five rebounds in 21 minutes, providing needed depth and defensive energy off the bench. It wasn’t flashy, but it mattered.</p><p>Collectively, their return restored Cleveland’s balance. No longer relying solely on Mitchell’s heroics, the Cavs looked whole again, even if physically, they were far from it. And perhaps more importantly, they played like a team with belief.</p><p>“We appreciate them fighting through whatever they’re going through,” Strus said. “We’re grateful for them, and hopefully they can do it again on Sunday.”</p><p>Game 4 now looms as a chance for Cleveland to even the series, with momentum finally tilting their way. The storyline that had dominated the week, who would suit up, and at what cost, may finally be put to rest. In its place, the Cavs can write a new chapter. One where their best players, even at less than full strength, deliver when it matters most.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs rally behind Evan Mobley’s return to dominate Pacers in Game 3 win

<!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-darius-garland-evan-mobley-boost-game-3-pacers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs get Darius Garland, Evan Mobley boost for Game 3 vs Pacers');   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/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-dribbles-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs get Darius Garland, Evan Mobley boost for Game 3 vs Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-09T16:40:07-07:00">May 9th, 4:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-09T16:40:07-07:00">May 9th, 4:40pm</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>Down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers, the Cleveland Cavaliers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/cavaliers-vs-pacers-game-3-prediction-odds-pick-spread-for-nba-playoffs-2025">head into Game 3</a> in desperate need of a spark. That spark may come in the form of reinforcements returning from injury. In a welcome reprieve, Cleveland will have Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter all back in the lineup. All three are critical players who missed Game 2 due to injury. As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-clinging-health-hope-injuries-cloud-game-3">Cavs prepare to play on the roa</a>d in Indiana, their <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2025-05-09_07PM.pdf" rel="noopener">full-strength roster</a> offers a glimmer of hope in what has been an uphill battle.</p><p>Garland, the team’s All-Star point guard, returns after a sprained big toe on his left foot kept him out since Game 2 of the first-round series against Miami. The injury had lingered since late in the regular season, but Garland’s absence in the playoffs has been especially noticeable.</p><p>Without Garland, Cleveland’s offense stagnated. Donovan Mitchell was forced into an even heavier offensive load, tasked with both playmaking and scoring. The result was a slower, more predictable attack, one that struggled to keep pace with Indiana’s up-tempo style. Garland’s return restores balance. Through two postseason games this year, he was averaging 24 points and 7 assists. Garland has been missed, and Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson made it clear how much his return matters.</p><p>“You always miss an All-Star,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Garland. “We have not shot the ball well. He helps with that. He obviously can create an advantage on his own.”</p><h2><b>Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter will also give the Cavs a major boost</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Darius-Garland-DeAndre-Hunter-Cavs-bench.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Joining Garland is Evan Mobley, the Cavs’ defensive anchor and a rising star in the frontcourt. Mobley sprained his left ankle after stepping on Myles Turner’s foot late in Game 1. The injury was so bad, he was unable to play in Game 2. Mobley’s absence left Cleveland thin in the paint, forcing Jarrett Allen to shoulder an increased load and pushing swingman Dean Wade into small-ball center duties, an unconventional wrinkle.</p><p>The return of Mobley not only gives Cleveland its rim protector back but also renews its frontcourt duo that has become a hallmark of the team’s defensive identity. Mobley’s progress over the last 48 hours—participating in walkthroughs, shootarounds, and pregame warmups—has been promising. He showed no signs of discomfort during sprints and movement drills ahead of Game 3.</p><p>Then there’s De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs’ 3-and-D wing whose impact may not always show in the box score, but is deeply felt on both ends of the floor. Hunter suffered a dislocated right thumb in a hard collision with Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin during Game 1.</p><p>Although Hunter is still likely experiencing pain on impact, the swelling has subsided enough for him to play. His ability to space the floor and defend multiple positions makes him a critical piece, especially against a dynamic Pacers squad that thrives in transition.</p><h2><b>Will Cleveland give their returning players a significant load right away?</b></h2><p>Thankfully, all three players participated in Friday morning’s shootaround and pregame warmups at Gainbridge Fieldhouse without issue. Atkinson did caution that he’ll be monitoring their workloads closely.</p><p>“That’s going to be a feel if it happens,” Atkinson said. “Darius is the tough one. I think about almost two weeks, so if he ends up playing, it’s just going to be a lot of communication with all three of those guys. Going to be slotted for their normal minutes, but we’re going to have communication.</p><p>“Communication with them, communication with our performance staff, and it can be a little bit of a feel.”</p><p>Cleveland enters Game 3 still stinging from a brutal 120-119 loss in Game 2, a game they led by seven points with under a minute to play. That collapse put them in a 0-2 hole, one few teams escape from.</p><p>But with Garland, Mobley, and Hunter back on the court, the Cavs are no longer limping into battle. They’re loaded, locked in, and looking to flip the script in Indianapolis. The road to recovery may have been painful, but the timing couldn’t be more crucial. Now, the Cavs are looking to strike back.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs get Darius Garland, Evan Mobley boost for Game 3 vs Pacers

<!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-rumors-the-evan-mobley-reason-cleveland-could-lose-ty-jerome');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs rumors: The Evan Mobley reason Cleveland could lose Ty Jerome');   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/2025/05/Cleveland-Cavaliers-players-Evan-Mobley-and-Ty-Jerome.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs rumors: The Evan Mobley reason Cleveland could lose Ty Jerome</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T19:11:10-07:00">May 6th, 7:11pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T19:11:33-07:00">May 6th, 7:11pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers and new head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-stepback-3-steal-game-2-cavs">Kenny Atkinson face an uphill climb after falling behind 2-0</a> against the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the Eastern conference playoffs. However, they have a larger problem looming once their offseason begins. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-history-defensive-player-of-the-year-draymond-green">Evan Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year</a>, triggering a clause in his contract that increases how much of the salary cap his contract makes up. The increase puts Cleveland up over the second apron, and Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome could be a casualty.</p><p>Mobley’s contract increases from 25 to 30% of his team’s cap. As a result the Cavaliers’ salary is at $219 million next season, making them <a href="https://x.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1915535165214122109" rel="noopener">a second apron team</a>, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Ever since its inception, the second apron has hamstrung teams with big payrolls, making it difficult to make any moves at all in trade or free agency.</p><p>In order to avoid the second apron, Cleveland has two options. They can let a player like Jerome walk into free agency or move multiple smaller contracts in order to re-sign him. If he had played enough minutes to qualify, Jerome would have likely been a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player. The former Virginia guard saw a huge leap in his first full season with a defined role.</p><p>The 6-foot-5 guard is one of the more interesting players set to be a free agent this summer. If the Cavaliers were to let him go, multiple teams would be in line to offer Jerome a hefty contract and a bigger role. However, <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-intel-free-agency-for-malik-beasley-dennis-schroeder-ty-jerome-suns-nuggets-pelicans/" rel="noopener">his desire is to remain</a> in Cleveland, according to HoopsHype.</p><p>Atkinson has grown attached to his players in his first season with his new team. His players spoke highly of his approach to coaching and Mobley credited him with his improvement.</p><p>He might need to take his coaching to another level as the Cavaliers face a crucial financial decision that could impact the team for years.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs rumors: The Evan Mobley reason Cleveland could lose Ty Jerome

<!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-darius-garland-evan-mobley-deandre-hunter-out-pacers-game-2');   ga('set', 'title', 'Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter out for Cavs-Pacers Game 2');   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/2025/05/Darius-Garland-during-2025-NBA-Playoffs.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter out for Cavs-Pacers Game 2</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T15:49:09-07:00">May 6th, 3:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T16:37:12-07:00">May 6th, 4:37pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>An incredible season could quickly turn sour for the Cleveland Cavaliers. All-Stars Darius Garland and Evan Mobley and crucial sixth man De’Andre Hunter <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1919882346049802327" rel="noopener">have all been ruled out</a> for Tuesday’s Game 2 matchup versus the visiting Indiana Pacers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Cavs are now in serious danger of absorbing yet another playoffs gut-punch and going down 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell might have to post the best postseason performance of his career if this woefully undermanned group is going to survive Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and the feisty Pacers. Garland is dealing with a toe injury, which caused him to miss the tail-end of Cleveland’s opening-round series versus the Miami Heat. Mobley and Hunter each suffered injuries in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-go-cold-from-3-in-game-1-loss-as-pacers-shoot-lights-out-to-steal-homecourt">Sunday’s Game 1 loss</a> due to what <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-coach-of-the-year-historic-64-win-season">NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson</a> deemed excessive physicality.</p><p>Mobley, the recently crowned Defensive Player of the Year, hurt his ankle when he landed on Myles Turner’s foot following a shot attempt. Atkinson believes that the Indiana center invaded his big man’s landing area. Hunter, a two-way wing the Cavs shrewdly acquired before the trade deadline, drove to the basket in the same contest but came down hard and dislocated his thumb after Bennedict Mathurin met him in the air. The former No. 6 overall draft pick visibly pushes his hand into Hunter’s chest area. No foul was called in either instance.</p><h2><b>The Cavs must find a way</b></h2><p>Officiating is always under the microscope, but obviously the scrutiny multiplies in the NBA playoffs. While Atkinson does not consider Indy to be a dirty team, he firmly believes the whistle should have been blown on both plays. The show must go on, though.</p><p>As unfair as it may seem to Cleveland, the time for gripes is over, or at least paused. The Cavaliers have voiced their opinions and can only hope that they get a break the next time a similar situation arises. Right now, though, the focus is on leaving Rocket Arena with a win. Donovan Mitchell and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-challenges-jarrett-allen-pacers-matchup">center Jarrett Allen</a> will be instrumental in making that happen, and so will the squad’s competent supporting cast.</p><p>The Cavs might need Max Strus, Sam Merrill or Ty Jerome to explode form 3-point range in order to combat the Pacers’ usual potent offensive attack. If Atkinson’s bunch does display the necessary resolve to best Indiana, this city is going to feel invincible. Game 2 is currently underway at time of print.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter out for Cavs-Pacers Game 2

<!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-vulnerable-game-2-darius-garland-evan-mobley-deande-hunter-injuries');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs vulnerable in Game 2 with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Ande Hunter injuries');   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/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-rebounds-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs vulnerable in Game 2 with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Ande Hunter injuries</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T13:52:53-07:00">May 6th, 1:52pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T14:27:38-07:00">May 6th, 2:27pm</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 entered the Eastern Conference Semifinals with the momentum of a 64-win season and a clean sweep of the Miami Heat. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/pacers-vs-cavaliers-game-2-prediction-odds-pick-spread-for-nba-playoffs-2025">But after a bruising 121-112 Game 1 loss</a> to the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs now find themselves in unfamiliar and deeply concerning territory. The defeat stung. However, the injuries <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-deandre-hunter-real-concern-injury">Cleveland has endured may hurt even more</a> in the long run.</p><p>Three critical players, All-Star point guard Darius Garland, All-Star forward Evan Mobley, and key wing De’Andre Hunter, are all officially listed as questionable for Game 2 at Rocket Arena. While each player’s situation varies, the Cavs’ title hopes now hinge on medical evaluations as much as coaching decisions.</p><p>Garland, nursing a sprained big toe, has already missed the team’s last three playoff games. Initially hurt late in the regular season, Garland attempted to return in the first-round series against the Heat. However, Garland aggravated the injury in Game 2.</p><p>Since then, he’s been sidelined and replaced in the starting lineup by Sam Merrill. Unfortunately, the sharpshooting reserve is a solid but limited option compared to Cleveland’s floor general.</p><p>Mobley, one of the league’s best defensive bigs, is dealing with a left ankle sprain sustained late in Game 1. His absence would be a seismic loss for Cleveland, especially considering how much pressure Indiana’s fast-paced offense puts on rim protection.</p><p>Then there’s Hunter, who <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/evan-mobley-deandre-hunter-quesionable-for-game-2-against-indiana/" rel="noopener">dislocated his right thumb</a> on a hard fall after a block by Bennedict Mathurin. Although Hunter, who shoots right-handed, has expressed optimism about playing, he was not present at Game 2’s pregame morning shootaround, a troubling sign. According to Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson, these injuries will be a test of Cleveland’s depth.</p><p>“It’s a sign of a good program,” Atkinson said after a 114-112 loss to Indiana. “I’ve been saying all year, we are 18-deep. That’s why I have confidence going into these types of games where we know we are going to be playing our bench a lot and our young guys a lot.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Donovan-Mitchell-defends-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2><b>Cavs will have to be creative as injuries pile up</b></h2><p>If Mobley and Hunter can’t go and Garland remains out, the Cavs will be forced to get creative. Dean Wade could slide into Mobley’s starting spot. From there, the Cavs will expect more minutes from Isaac Okoro and Javonte Green on the wing.</p><p>Okoro, however, went 0-for-2 from deep in Game 1 and will need to be more reliable offensively. Wade, once a key cog in Cleveland’s rotation, has seen his minutes dwindle. But his versatility could be vital in slowing down Indiana’s relentless transition attack.</p><p>Mitchell, meanwhile, is expected to suit up despite appearing to limp at times during the second half of Game 1. He brushed off concerns, telling reporters after shootaround, “I’m good. I’m excited,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a good game.”</p><p>But Mitchell cannot carry the weight alone. He attempted 30 shots in Game 1, a volume that signals desperation more than strategy. For Cleveland to win Game 2, the offense must become more balanced. Jarrett Allen needs more touches. Shooters need space. Atkinson must find creative ways to scheme open looks, especially if three key rotation players are sidelined.</p><p>The Pacers, to their credit, will make life difficult. They aren’t elite defensively. However, they thrive on chaos and pace, often baiting opponents into rushed decisions and poor shot selection. Expect them to try and wear down Mitchell by forcing him into isolation-heavy sets and daring Cleveland’s role players to beat them.</p><p>The sense of urgency is palpable. While it’s only Game 2, the circumstances between an injury-riddled roster, a lost homecourt advantage, and a deep Pacers team smelling blood make it feel like a must-win. If they lose, the Cavs head to Indianapolis down 2-0 with major question marks swirling around the health of their stars. That’s something Cleveland needs to avoid.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs vulnerable in Game 2 with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Ande Hunter injuries

<!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-deandre-hunter-real-concern-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter draw ‘real concern’ injury updates before Game 2 vs. Pacers');   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/2025/05/DeAndre-Hunter-injured-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter draw ‘real concern’ injury updates before Game 2 vs. Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-05T12:57:33-07:00">May 5th, 12:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-05T15:03:49-07:00">May 5th, 3:03pm</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>Already without Darius Garland due to a nagging toe injury, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals delivered a gut punch to the Cleveland Cavaliers, both on the scoreboard and the injury report.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-collapse-game-1-injuries-defense-spell-doom-pacers">Not only did the Cavs fall 121-112</a> to the Indiana Pacers, but they may have lost two of their key contributors in Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter to injuries that have now <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-go-cold-from-3-in-game-1-loss-as-pacers-shoot-lights-out-to-steal-homecourt">clouded the team’s outlook heading into Game 2</a>.</p><p>Speaking at Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Cavs’ practice facility, Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t mince words about the physicality that defined the fourth quarter of the game. In his view, it crossed a critical line.</p><p>“Indiana deserved that,” Atkinson admitted. “They outplayed us. They were the more physical team. But I will say there were two plays in that game that, I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality, that line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive.”</p><p>The first of those plays occurred with just more than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Mobley caught the ball in the paint and flipped in a hook shot over Indiana’s Myles Turner. On his landing, Mobley came down awkwardly on Turner’s foot, rolling his left ankle in the process.</p><p>“Turner contests his two-point shot, comes clearly under him, and shooters need space to land,” Atkinson said. “He is pushed off balance in our opinion and tweaks his ankle pretty badly. I think you guys saw him limping the rest of the game. There was a big push to get him out. He wanted to stay in.”</p><p>Mobley, who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, was visibly hobbled after the incident. He attempted just one more shot for the remainder of the game.</p><h2><b>Things went from bad to worse after Cavs’ Evan Mobley tweaked his ankle</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Evan-Mobley-attacks-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>On the very next possession, Cavs forward De’Andre Hunter took off in transition, blowing by Tyrese Haliburton and rising for what looked to be an emphatic dunk. That was until he was met at the rim by Bennedict Mathurin.</p><p>The block sent Hunter <a href="https://x.com/MoDakhil_NBA/status/1919181199349830014" rel="noopener">crashing to the ground</a>, where he immediately clutched his right hand in pain. The play was reviewed and ultimately upheld as a clean block, much to Atkinson’s disbelief.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">On replay, this is a foul, Mathurin puts his left hand square in Hunter's chest as he goes up. We'll see what the refs say. <a href="https://t.co/nB7U15ttKj">pic.twitter.com/nB7U15ttKj</a></p><p>— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoDakhil_NBA/status/1919181199349830014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Everyone in the world, just look at that play, Atkinson said. “They reviewed it, and I’m just in shock. I don’t know; I guess I gotta know the rules better. Maybe I don’t know the rules. I felt he got absolutely obliterated and dislocated his thumb. So he’ll be questionable.”</p><p>Hunter exited for a brief medical evaluation, later revealing he had dislocated his thumb and had it popped back into place. While he expressed confidence in his ability to suit up for Game 2, his status remains up in the air. That is, until Atkinson, alternating between describing Mobley and Hunter as “questionable” and “doubtful,” ultimately tried to clarify his language.</p><p>“That’s semantics, right? Questionable is questionable. Whatever. Let’s put it in that,” Atkinson said. “To me, in my world, doubtful and questionable live in the same world. So maybe I’m using, I should use the official NBA kind of thing. … I’m not going to expand on it. Obviously, a real concern.”</p><h2><b>Cleveland could be incredibly undermanned heading into Game 2</b></h2><p>The Cavs were already undermanned before either of those incidents. Garland missed the final two games of the first round with a toe injury and was ruled out of Game 1 just 30 minutes before tipoff. His status remains up in the air with Atkinson labeling him “questionable” as well.</p><p>“We just did shootaround today, so it was tough to really gauge kind of where he is,” Atkinson said of Garland. “So yeah, he’ll be questionable, too, for tomorrow.”</p><p>Through all the frustration, Atkinson took care to express respect for the Pacers and the league’s officials, calling the crew that worked Game 1 “a darn good group.” Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his team was unfairly dealt a harsh hand.</p><p>“I don’t think this is on Indiana. I have so much respect for how they play,” Atkinson said. “The fact of the matter, I think that it’s on the referees. Maybe there were missed calls, or maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules. But I have a problem when we have two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game; it’s hard for me to get my head around that.</p><p>“Haven’t talked about the referees all year. I think the referees in this league are phenomenal, and they do a great job, and that was a darn good crew that did last night. A ton of respect for those guys. But for some reason, it bothers me that we’re dealing with this. And there should be some repercussions in terms of making the call.”</p><p>As the Cavs prepare for Game 2, the series has taken on a new shape, It’s one not just of competition but of survival. Down 1-0 and bruised, Cleveland now faces a test of resilience in a playoff run suddenly defined by attrition.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter draw ‘real concern’ injury updates before Game 2 vs. Pacers

<!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-evan-mobley-dominates-with-two-way-mastery-vs-heat');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Evan Mobley dominates with two-way mastery vs. Heat');   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-Stars-Donovan-Mitchell-and-Evan-Mobley.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Evan Mobley dominates with two-way mastery vs. Heat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-28T18:10:09-07:00">April 28th, 6:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-28T18:10:09-07:00">April 28th, 6:10pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are missing the services of one of their most important players in <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-fans-react-absurd-start-game-4-heat">Game 4 against the Miami Heat</a>, with <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-game-4-status-heat-2-word-kenny-atkinson-treatment">Darius Garland sitting out Monday night’s contest in South Beach</a> with a toe issue. However, Garland’s absence seemingly is not negatively affecting the Cavs in their mission to complete a four-game sweep of Tyler Herro and the Heat.</p><p>With the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, De’Andre Hunter and Evan Mobley doing incredible work in the first half, the Cavaliers were able to go to halftime with a stunning 39-point lead. Speaking of Mobley, the freshly minted 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year flashed his might form on both ends of the floor during one moment in the Heat game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Evan Mobley BLOCK 🚫<br>Evan Mobley DUNK 😤</p><p>The DPOY is getting it done on BOTH ends of the court early!<br> <a href="https://t.co/tDr2oMQVCL">pic.twitter.com/tDr2oMQVCL</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1917011492769304648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With the Cavs up by 26 points, Heat forward Andrew Wiggins tried to make things happen for his team by bravely attacking the basket, only to get denied at the rim by Mobley. The former USC Trojans star big man then ran down the floor and patiently waited for a pass near the basket before finishing the play with a thunderous two-handed dunk that also gave the Cavaliers a staggering 29-point lead.</p><p>At the end of the first half, the 23-year-old Mobley had <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401768037" rel="noopener">10 points, five rebounds, two blocks, an assist</a> and a steal in 17 minutes of action on the floor. Meanwhile, Mitchell led all Cavaliers starters with 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field.</p><p>Mobley’s partner in the frontcourt, Jarrett Allen, also had a blast in the first half, as he’s already made himself a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards to go along with six steals and a dime. But Cleveland’s leading scorer thus far is Hunter, who came off the bench and lit up the Heat’s defense for 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including three 3-pointers in as many attempts from behind the arc.</p><p>And as a team, Cleveland shot 52.2 percent from the floor at the half while also going 11-for-24 from deep. The Heat, on the other hand, shot only 13-for-43 from the field, with Herro held to only 1-for-8 from the field and 1-for-7 from downtown.</p><p>Should the Cavs finish the job in Game 4, they will next wait for the winner of the other first-round matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
18.3	8.8	4.8	2.0	1.8

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
18.3	8.8	4.8	2.0	1.8

Evan Mobley news

Evan
Mobley news