Evan Mobley still carries Cleveland’s Eastern Conference finals exit with him, but he isn’t treating it like some grand revelation.
The Cavaliers’ run ended on May 25 with a 130-93 loss to the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena, a Game 5 clincher that finished off a sweep. New York rolled on from there, beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games for the championship, and has already started its title defense with its own media day.
Mobley was back at Rocket Arena on Monday for Cleveland’s media day, and he said the summer didn’t exactly wash away what happened in the spring.
"It definitely stuck with me throughout the whole summer," Mobley said. "Even still now.
I mean, we made it far, that's for sure. There's definitely some benefits in that, but it didn't end how we wanted it to.
So the main goal is always getting better in the next year. We've done that every single year, so that's the plan again."
That’s the part Mobley keeps coming back to: the Cavaliers did reach a new level, even if the finish was brutal. It was the deepest playoff run of his career, and Cleveland got farther than it had in any of his first four seasons.
Mobley’s postseason track record tells the story of that climb. As a rookie in 2021-22, he was on a 44-38 team that went out in the play-in tournament.
In 2023, the Knicks knocked Cleveland out in five games in the first round, with Mobley averaging 9.8 points and 10.0 rebounds. The next year, the Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic in seven games before falling to the Boston Celtics in five in the second round.
Last spring, Cleveland finally pushed into the conference finals, a round it hadn’t reached since 2018. The Cavs beat the Toronto Raptors in seven games and the Detroit Pistons in seven before running into New York. This year, they entered the playoffs as the East’s No. 1 seed, swept the Miami Heat in the first round, and then lost to the Indiana Pacers in five.
Mobley’s career playoff line now sits at 19-24, and he has started all 43 of those games. He also blocked 32 shots in last spring’s 18.
Still, Mobley doesn’t see the Knicks series as proof the Cavs need to blow things up or start over.
"I wouldn't say it's a huge wake-up call," Mobley explained. "I mean, we made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
That's amazing. And so every single year, like I said, we've gotten better.
And so I don't see why we wouldn't do it again."
The series itself got away from Cleveland quickly. The Knicks took Game 1 115-104 in overtime at Madison Square Garden on May 19, then handled Game 2 109-93 there two days later. Back in Cleveland, New York finished the sweep with a 121-108 win in Game 3.
Mobley’s best scoring night in the series came in that third game, when he put up 24 points. He finished the matchup averaging 17.0 points and 8.3 rebounds.
He also made clear he’s aware of how Cleveland is viewed from the outside. In his mind, the Cavaliers get passed over far too often when people talk about contenders.
"It's kind of crazy that people don't really mention that or they just discount it," Mobley said. "But honestly, that's how it's been every single year since I've really been here.
So it's nothing new or different out of the ordinary. It's just another day."
When asked why that happens, Mobley’s best guess was "low market Cleveland, probably," though he said he didn’t know for sure. He added that it was "just media" and said it is what it is.
Cleveland finished last season 52-30 and fourth in the East. On Monday, Donovan Mitchell said the loss to New York - and the summer that followed - left the group with a fire. James Harden said the playoff run didn’t leave the team much time to get to know each other.
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