Proper watering for Evan Mobley, in the middle of an interviewfrom Donovan Mitchell as if to show how much the Cavs interior was on fire that night in Charlotte.
“ I felt hot! The first five or six shots went in, from there I kept shooting. My coaches and teammates believe in me, I put in tonight », summarizes the interior, author of an exceptional start to the meeting.
Too often forgotten by a Hornets defense focused on the backs of the Cavaliers, like Mark Williams who retreated in front of him, Evan Mobley enjoyed himself behind the arc by starting the match with a 5/5 behind the bow.
Inside, Taj Gibson and the others offered little resistance. Result: after twelve minutes, he had scored 23 of his team's 40 points, already well ahead in the score (40-18).
“ Olala… We really push him to shoot 3-pointers because we know he’s a hell of a shooter. You see his free throw percentage climb (editor’s note: almost 80% this season, a record). I liked how aggressive he was from 3-point range. He might have taken one or two bad shots, but it was: 'Keep going, be free'”, describes his coach Kenny Atkinsonspeaking of his “ nice shot “.
Continue to assert yourself
His interior, on which the technician has focused a good part of his attention since his arrival in Ohio, felt so good in this part that he offered himself a new career record: 41 points (16/23 on shots including 6/8 from distance), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“ It's good to see Evan continue to develop. We always talk about his development, he improves every day, every match. We see something different in his game that is emerging », notes Darius Garland.
His teammate says he wants to progress “ by 1% every day “. “ This won't always be seen right away. We saw it. But you have to continue to show resilience, go on the field every day, get into habits, and after that, it will eventually show with matches like this “, preaches Evan Mobley.
In the Top 20 of the league?
Beyond technical progress, there is attitude. Kenny Atkinson speaks of an evolution “ mental », which helps him assert himself alongside others, notably Donovan Mitchell. “ He's not a selfish young man. He is altruistic. But we need him to be a little more selfish like he was tonight. For me this is the next step », aims at his coach.
What Darius Garland has absolutely no doubt about: “ He's going to take us where we want to go. In my opinion, he has the talent, size and all the abilities to become one of the best. He has a very good chance of achieving this. We just want him to be himself, to be the power forward we know and that we all want to see. »
A first All-Star selection would be confirmation of this. His performance of the evening allowed him to boost his points average, now approaching 19 points on average, his best career mark. His coach thus sees in him a “ elite player » member of the « Top 20 ” And ” who can reach the Top 10. Easy. »
| Evan Mobley | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | KEY | 69 | 34 | 50.8 | 25.0 | 66.3 | 2.1 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 15.0 |
| 2022-23 | KEY | 79 | 34 | 55.4 | 21.6 | 67.4 | 2.4 | 6.6 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 16.2 |
| 2023-24 | KEY | 50 | 31 | 58.0 | 37.3 | 71.9 | 2.2 | 7.1 | 9.4 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 15.7 |
| 2024-25 | KEY | 22 | 31 | 54.7 | 34.8 | 79.8 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 17.9 |
| Total | 220 | 33 | 54.4 | 27.8 | 69.4 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 15.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
