Cavs’ Evan Mobley sitting at intersection of expectations and adjustment

Once Evan Mobley put together an All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season, the bar moved. Quickly. MVP chatter followed, and with it came the assumption that anything less would feel like a step back.

That’s the context Mobley is operating in now, especially with Cavaliers games under a brighter spotlight and patience running thinner when things go sideways.

Mobley deserved criticism for parts of the Cavs’ loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday. Two rebounds from a player his size will always stand out, and a handful of late possessions didn’t go his way.

But pinning the Thunder’s extra chances entirely on him misses the bigger picture. The Cavs’ switch-heavy scheme pulled Mobley away from the paint often, and several long rebounds ended up far from his area of responsibility.

Offensively, the story is even more layered. The Cavs experimented early, asking Mobley to handle and create more. Later, they shifted him closer to the basket, where he found a rhythm before calf issues disrupted his season twice.

Now, he’s adjusting again, this time alongside James Harden, which reshapes his role and pegs him closer to a third scoring option.

That doesn’t mean Mobley has plateaued. He turns 25 in June, remains one of the league’s most impactful defenders, and is still navigating shifting responsibilities on a team pushing hard to contend.

The expectations are sky-high. Fair or not, that’s the reality. Mobley’s challenge now is embracing a role that keeps changing, while the noise only gets louder.