LWIC: Evan Mobley shines bright in Jarrett Allen's absence

The Cavs took a jump to become the league's best defense this week while Jarrett Allen was sidelined. This came just a week after another Jarrett Allen injury stint that saw Cleveland drop five-straight games and fall to 17th in DRtg during that period. 

This time, the Cavs went 3-2 instead of 0-5, a solid improvement for an undermanned unit. The two losses came against Toronto on a road back-to-back without key players after needing all 48 minutes to knock off Detroit the night before. And, well, the second loss was very warranted against the Knicks. They didn't play well. However, it wasn't because of defense, which was the reason for pretty much all of the five-game losing streak.

So, what's the difference this time around? 

The answer is simple: Evan Mobley.

And it's not just on defense. Evan Mobley has been shining all up and down the floor. Before that abhorrent Knicks game that we all had to lay our eyes upon, Mobley was averaging 18.3 points and 12.3 boards. He finished the week averaging about two fewer points, but regardless, the point still stands. 

Mobley finished the week shooting an impressive 65.5% from the field, and got up to a respectable 33% from distance. Albeit, less than two attempts per game, the Cavs clearly believe that should be a focus in Mobley's game. 

Before last Sunday's game against Detroit, Evan Mobley was shooting less than one three-pointer per game, clocking in at 0.7 3PA on a nightly basis. That number shot up to 1.8 over the past week, and as previously mentioned, Mobley made exactly one-third of that. 33.3% on the dot. That figure is up from a paltry 15.4 % for the entire season prior.

Whether or not that is a trend that will stay or not, it's something interesting to keep an eye on when it comes to Mobley's development.

Before we get to the piece de resistance, we can talk about Mobley on the glass as well.

He's been a beast. 

Over the last week, Mobley got up to 11.3 rebounds per game. However, what's more impressive, is the offensive glass. Mobley has given the Cavs 3.6 second-chance opportunities over the last week. This isn't just a noticeable statistical jump, it would be a jump into the top 10 in offensive rebounding for the entire league. 

And for the season, Mobley is up to 9.2 rebounds per game, closing in on averaging a double-double. 

Needless to say, once again, he's been impressive. 

But what's been the Cavs' identity for two seasons now, is defense. The defense has won this team's game. They were top-5 in defense last year with a bottom-10 offense but still finished the season with 44 wins. 

This season, for the week that the Cavs had a below-average defense, they went 0-5. They didn't win a single game. A smaller sample size for this year, obviously, but the overall theme that still stays is that the Cavs live and die by their defense.

That's how the Cavs were able to weather this week's storm. They didn't fall to 17th, they rose to 1st. Over the last four games, (not including the game against New York, part of this article was written prior) Cleveland had a 101.4 DRtg, that number spiked, or dropped, to 99.6 with Evan Mobley on the court. And to make it even better, the Cavs are a +11.1 NET with Mobley on the floor.

These are massive improvements from numbers that were already very good. Mobley had a personal defensive rating of 108.5, but as a team, the defensive rating with Mobley on the floor was better with him off the floor than on it. And the Cavs NET was only +1.7 for the season. 

Something's changed for him, maybe he's found a rhythm. Who knows. What we do know, is that this version of Evan Mobley is absolutely critical for the success of the Cavs. Because the evidence shows that when Mobley is on, the Cavs are on. And when Mobley is off, well, a five-game losing streak, etc., etc. 

Here's to getting Jarrett Allen back, but here's to Evan Mobley continuing to shine in his absence. As long as that absence may be.

Up Next:

A big test arrives for Mobley and the Cavs on Tuesday. A date with LeBron and a scorching hot Anthony Davis on national television. Davis is averaging a measly 49.5 PPG in his last two outings and has been putting up MVP numbers for the better part of a month now. Let's hope Allen is back, but it should be a super fun matchup with LeBron in Cleveland regardless. 

The Cavs follow that match-up with a home date with this season's darling, the Sacramento Kings, and finish the week against OKC and MVP candidate Shai-Gilgeous Alexander on a back-to-back on Saturday night.

Enjoy your week folks, and go Cavs.

Credit for all images belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cavs.com