Evan Mobley’s three-point trajectory
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Infinite possibilities will present themselves to the Cleveland Cavaliers if Evan Mobley develops a three-point shot. Let’s check how this process is going.
The first sip
We all know it’s a point of emphasis. But how much progress has Mobley made as a jump shooter?
Mobley shot just 25% from deep in his rookie season. Somehow, he regressed to a 21.6% clip as a sophomore — making Mobley the worst shooter in the entire NBA for a minimum of 100 3PAs.
It didn’t get much better for Mobley when he stepped inside the arc. He shot just 36.4% from 10-14 feet, the second-worst mark in the league during the 2022-23 season.
In other words, the bar was set fairly low entering Mobley’s third season. Did he clear it? The answer is a resounding yes.
Mobley shot a career-best 37.3% from deep, revamping his jumper during his time recovering from a knee injury. Mobley’s mechanics sped up slightly and appeared to adjust the hitch that previously led to inconsistency.
Side-by-side comparison of Evan Mobley's jump shot development
— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) February 21, 2024
Both replays slowed to 0.25x pic.twitter.com/d8ucM9PtVL
This wasn’t a magical fix by any means. Mobley attempted fewer than half the amount of three-pointers he did the year before and only converted 27.8% of his three-point attempts in the playoffs.
Still, his marginally improved mechanics brought a boost not only to his perimeter shot — but to the free throw line, as well. Mobley shot a career-best 71.9% from the stripe, nearly a 5% increase.
Mobley has yet to establish any rhythm from the mid-range. Even with his improvements elsewhere, he remained far below league average from 10-16 feet. Carving a niche from the elbow is arguably just as important as expanding his range to the three-point line for Mobley.
How confident can we feel that last season was the first step towards efficiency for the 23-year-old? There’s no guarantee that he’ll continue to improve each year — or that last season was anything but a small sample-size fluke.
Yet, the easiest path toward justifying Mobley’s max contract extension is blossoming into a three-level scorer. The hints of growth from last season are worthy of optimism. He might never be anything absurd like Victor Wembanyama but even a modest bump in three-point volume would polish Mobley into a special two-way threat.
Random Cavalier of the Day - Ira Newble
Ira Newble is the most “2000s” role player you can imagine. He has been described as an NBA player who was better suited to be in the NHL. A physical, gritty defender who played hefty minutes despite being a net-negative on offense. He couldn’t shoot, dribble or reliably put the ball in the basket in any way — but he could stop the other team from scoring, and that’s all that mattered.
Newble played in Cleveland from 2003 to 2008, eventually being traded to Seattle as part of an 11-player deal that Newble only learned about from watching ESPN — as reportedly no one from the Cavs called to inform him ahead of the deadline.
The Cavaliers likely wish they didn’t invest $15 million into Newble during LeBron James’ first stint in Cleveland. They would have been better suited to surrounding James with more offensive talent. Nonetheless, you can’t argue that Newble didn’t play his heart out each night. That’s worth something.