How Mobley adjusts in Game 4 could swing the series

Mobley remains the key to unlocking the Cavaliers’ offense.

Playoff basketball is about finding advantages and keeping them no matter what your opponent does. Evan Mobley’s offense changed the series for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2, but he wasn’t able to have the same impact in Game 3. Mobley couldn’t adjust to how the Boston Celtics were defending him.

“They just kept switching,” Mobley said after Game 3, “and keeping pretty big defenders on me throughout the game. When I had some switches, I tried to take advantage, but sometimes they’ll just switch out from the opposite side and get another big defender on me.”

That’s exactly what the Celtics did differently in Game 3.

When Mobley did get a switch in Game 2, Boston didn’t completely dig down to take the advantage away. They allowed their defender to stay with Mobley one-on-one. This let him methodically move in the paint to create advantages.

The Celtics sent help anytime he got the ball in the post in Game 3, even when he didn’t have a mismatch. Mobley didn’t go up quickly enough when he had an advantage and didn’t recognize where the double was coming from. This turned what were high-percentage looks in Game 2 into shots that the defense could live with.

“We just got to find different advantages and take those advantages instead of trying to do the same thing over and over again,” Mobley said.

Mobley got into a good rhythm offensively in Game 2 after being able to push off of offensive rebounds. The Celtics neutralized that to a degree in Game 3 by attacking the offensive glass harder. They went from grabbing just 17% of their misses in Game 2 (9th percentile) to 25.6% in Game 3 (48th percentile).

As a result, Mobley’s defensive rebounds were much more heavily contested, than they were in Game 2. This forced him to find a guard to outlet the ball instead of pushing it himself thus taking away a source of easy offense. Boston’s ability to keep Cleveland’s guards from getting to the rim also took away some of the baskets he was getting from dump-off passes from the guards.

Mobley can’t control Boston’s rebounding strategy or his teammates’ ability to get to the rim. He can, however, control how he attacks Boston’s defense. Mobley sometimes slows down and appears indecisive when he gets put in uncomfortable positions. This happened last postseason against the New York Knicks when they dared Mobley to beat them in the short roll. He didn’t react quickly enough in those moments to take complete advantage of the advantage the offense got from beating the switch.

The Celtics are forcing Mobley to beat them in a different way, although, the need to confidentially and decisively react is the same. Mobley has to go up before the double or allow the help to come and make the correct pass from there. It would also benefit the offense if they found ways to get him the ball more in the high post or at the top of the arc to act as an offensive hub.

Mobley has proven throughout his career that he can evolve and adapt quicker than most his age, but he needs to be put into a position where he’s forced to do so. The Cavs organization has done a disservice to Mobley by not pushing him out of his comfort zone more regularly. This includes allowing him to play the four full-time even though his long-term position will be center. This postseason has done that for them.

The best playoff teams force their opponent into uncomfortable situations. Being able to thrive and adjust in that environment is what separates the 82 and 16-game players. Seeing how Mobley will react in Game 4 and for the rest of the series is an invaluable learning experience for the guy who will determine whether this core ever has a window to compete for a championship. His offense can swing the series, and outlook of the team, in a way no one else can.

“[I’m’] just trying to be as aggressive as possible,” Mobley said. “I feel like that helps the team a lot. It opens up the floor for everybody else. And that’s really my mindset throughout the rest of the series is just trying to be aggressive, get to my spots, and shoot those shots.”