24 Storylines: Can Mobley make the leap?

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We’re counting down 24 key storylines heading into the 2024-25 NBA season. Our senior analysts will dissect a new topic each day as we help you get ready for opening night on Oct. 22.
Here is storyline No. 15: 
As training camps opened, the Cleveland Cavaliers led the league in continuity, with 97% of their 2023-24 regular-season minutes represented by players who are still on the roster. All 12 guys that played at least 300 minutes last season are back.
In May, the Cavs won a playoff series without LeBron James for the first time in 31 years. But they needed seven games to beat the Orlando Magic (who had the two biggest wins of the series) before being eliminated in five games by the Boston Celtics.
As they enter their third season with Donovan Mitchell (who signed a contract extension in July), the Cavs have two big reasons for optimism. First, they made a coaching change, hoping that Kenny Atkinson can get the key pieces to work better together. More important is that Evan Mobley, entering his fourth season at the age of 23, can make a big leap offensively.
Those two things are related. If Mobley is a better, more-versatile offensive player, then he’s a better fit alongside center Jarrett Allen.
Last season, the Cavs were much better offensively with Allen on the floor by himself than they were with both bigs on the floor together or with Mobley on the floor without Allen.
Cavs’ efficiency with Mobley and/or Allen on the floor
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions
Includes regular season and playoffs
Mobley doesn’t need to turn into Kevin Durant offensively. But, having taken just 10.7% of his shots from beyond the arc last season, he does need to shoot more 3-pointers to better complement Allen and the Cavs’ guards. When he’s on the floor without Allen, he can be more of an interior threat, rolling to the rim or operating from the elbow.
He’s shown flashes of real offensive skill, but it’s now time for Mobley to put it all together and be a scorer the Cavs can rely on every night.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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