The Addition of Evan Mobley Can Make SexLand a Reality, Here's Why:

 The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Evan Mobley from USC to round out their young core in the draft tonight. Entering the draft, the discussions around the viability of their small back court had reached a boiling point. Collin Sexton's name was in numerous trade discussions thus far in the off-season, and the questions are valid. The pairing of Garland and Sexton was smaller than the already struggling Portland backcourt, and the Cavs have the worst record in the league over the last 3 seasons. The addition of Evan Mobley in the 2021 draft has the potential to make this back court pairing a part of Cleveland's long term plans, here's why:

    The biggest concern about the Cavs current back court hangs over them like a black cloud, the defense. Let's not kid ourselves, we knew making SexLand a viable pairing long term was going to be extremely difficult. But adding Evan Mobley changes the outlook on the Cavs by a lot. Suddenly, the Cavs go from Kevin Love, who's not known for his defense, to Evan Mobley, A versatile forward who can guard everyone on the floor. He can also protect the rim at an elite level. The kid was Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. His fit next to Jarrett Allen is impeccable on defense as well, Evan Mobley's biggest deficiency is his frame. He weighs in at 215 lbs, which in only about 15 pounds heavier than the 6'3" Darius Garland. This deficiency can be covered up by Jarrett Allen, who can protect the rim against bigger 5's, while Mobley takes advantage of his size against smaller 4's and 3's. This leaves Isaac Okoro, who should be primed to make a big jump next season. Okoro showed flashes of great defense, he stood out particularly against Golden State, when he was the primary defender against Steph Curry. Curry didn't make a 3-pointer until the 3rd quarter. The versatility of Okoro and Mobley can cover up SexLand's defensive deficiencies. This is all while Allen covers for Okoro and Mobley at the rim. In a dream scenario, the Cavs can turn into a very good defensive team while maintaining the young, exciting back court of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton.

    On offense, the Cavs will have an interesting problem. The spacing for the Cavs will be a big problem. The Cavs only true shooter is Darius Garland. Collin Sexton can shoot 3's at about 38%, but he is not a shoot first guard. His primary scoring option is to slash. However, taking away Kevin Love and inserting Evan Mobley provides the slash-first guard nothing but clogged paint. Let's not forget the paint was already clogged last season. It will only get worse, at first. Scouts are very confident in Evan Mobley's ability to develop a reliable perimeter shot. He has good mechanics, and the formula is there. Isaac Okoro will also have to make a leap as a shooter for this core to work. Isaac's 29.1% 3-PT% won't cut it in a already crowded floor. The Cavs offense will soon become a bigger question than their defense. That's up to the Cavs player development team to turn weaknesses into strengths. However, the Bucks just won the NBA Championship as one of the worst 3-PT shooting team in playoff history, so maybe this is all reading into things too much.

     The Cavs have a distance to go, but the addition of Evan Mobley can make their vision that was laid out in 2018/19 a reality.