Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are making a strong case that the Cavaliers’ best path runs straight through the frontcourt.
For a while, it was easy for the duo to get lost in the shuffle with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden around them. But this season, Mobley and Allen have pushed their way into the center of the offense, and the results have been loud. Cleveland’s latest game against the Milwaukee Bucks made that point crystal clear.
The two big men combined for 52 points and did it with eye-popping efficiency, going 23-32 from the floor. They didn’t just chip in - they took over. If that kind of production keeps showing up, the rest of the Eastern Conference has a problem on its hands.
Mobley and Allen also filled up the box score in ways that go beyond scoring. Allen pulled down 11 rebounds and finished at a massive plus-24. Mobley knocked down 3-5 from deep, a reminder that his jumper can’t be ignored.
The rebounding numbers are part of what makes this pairing so dangerous. Allen has not had fewer than seven rebounds in a game this season, and Mobley has reached double-digit rebounds in three of Cleveland’s four wins. That matters for a team that struggled on the glass last season and even in the preseason this year.
There’s also a clear trend when Allen gets rolling offensively. The Cavs have won 73 percent of the games in which he scores at least 20 points. That’s not a small detail - it’s a sign of how much the team’s ceiling rises when the bigs are driving the action.
Against Milwaukee, both Mobley and Allen posted season highs in shot attempts. That fits the bigger picture here: when they are the two players getting the most touches, Cleveland looks different.
At times, Kenny Atkinson has seemed to move away from them late in games, and that has led to some costly mistakes. The Bucks game was a reminder of what happens when the Cavaliers stay with their size advantage and keep feeding it.
Health will still matter. Mobley played 65 games last year, while Allen appeared in 56. But if both stay available and keep producing at this level, they can be a brutal matchup for anyone.
The Cavs have started well. Now they have a formula that could make them even more dangerous: let the two big men down low keep setting the tone and force the East to deal with it.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Just Stole A Useful Frontcourt Addition From A Rival
Norchad Omier is heading into another NBA opportunity, and this one is coming with a different team than expected. According to NBA insider Michael Scotto, the big man changed his mind about signing a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves and now plans to join the Cavaliers on a similar deal, giving Cleveland a low-risk frontcourt addition with some pro experience already behind him.
Omier has already spent time in training camp with Minnesota and has also had NBA and G League stops, including a stint with the Clippers, so this is not a total unknown for a team looking to add depth up front. For Cleveland, it is the kind of move that can quietly matter over the long season, while for Omier it is another chance to carve out a foothold in the league and prove he belongs. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron Just Reignited A Kyrie Debate Cavaliers Fans Know Well
LeBron James has a way of turning old Cavaliers debates back into fresh ones, and his latest comments did exactly that. The former Cleveland partners built one of the most memorable stretches in franchise history, pairing LeBrons all-around dominance with Kyrie Irvings shot-making on the way to the 2016 NBA championship, the high-water mark for a team that still measures itself against that title run.
Irving is now with the Dallas Mavericks, while LeBron moved on again this offseason by signing a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Even with their careers headed in different directions, their Cleveland connection remains impossible to separate from how fans judge both players, and the renewed conversation around Irvings place in NBA history is only going to keep that bond in the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Isaiah Mobleys Next Career Move Will Catch Cavs Fans Attention
Isaiah Mobleys next stop is taking him back to Europe, where the former Cavaliers draft pick has agreed to join Basquet Manresa in Spain, according to the club. For Cleveland fans, it is another reminder of how the organizations recent draft history continues to ripple outward, with Mobley now adding Spain to a pro career that has already included stops in Turkey and Israel.
Mobley was a second-round selection by the Cavaliers in 2022, and his path since then has been a familiar one for players trying to carve out a longer runway in the game. Around the wider basketball world, Killian Hayes has been linked to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Josh Hart has been mentioned as a possible fit for Napoli Basket down the line, and the NBA has also been dealing with questions from U.S. senators about its partnership with Rwanda. [Read more 🡒]