Summer League Recap: Rockets 84, Cavs 76 (Let the Hot Takes Begin…)
2021-08-10Last night in the Las Vegas heat, Evan Mobley and the Summer League Cleveland Cavaliers embarked upon their summer school session with a close, competitive loss against Jalen Green and the Summer League Houston Rockets, 84-76. Let’s dive right in with last night’s takeaways…
Game MVP: Lamar Stevens
Stevens put forth an excellent start to his sophomore campaign in the NBA world, stuffing the whole stat sheet with 15 points (on .609 TS%), nine rebounds, three stocks, and two assists with zero turnovers. In Stevens’ 29 minutes on the court, the Cavs posted a 147.9 offensive rating and 101.5 defensive rating (advanced stats courtesy of realgm.com). The only real blemish for Stevens in this game was the inability to work on his three point jumper, only taking two attempts and making one, although the lack of any true point guard on the Summer League roster will make that task difficult. All in all, it’s nice to see Stevens build on the flashes he showed last season.
Honorable Mentions: Mfiondu Kabengele, Isaac Okoro, and Chandler Vaudrin
Kabengele played his role to perfection last night with arguably the most impactful performance for the Cavs, posting a team-high 60.3 net rating in his 29 minutes on the floor. Kabengele was a terror on the boards with a team-high 13 rebounds, and chipped in a couple of blocks and assists to boot. He only took the shots he was supposed to take, going 1-3 from three. If Kabengele’s future isn’t with the Cavs (inferred from Cavs’ GM Koby Altman’s awkward comment about Kabengele on the live telecast), he put out some good tape that showed he’s a team player who knows his role and executes.
Isaac “Ice” Okoro had himself a solid offensive performance with a team-high 17 points on elite efficiency (.632 TS%), and chipped in three rebounds and two assists. Ice produced one of biggest highlights on the night, with his thunderous dunk over Houston’s Alperin Şengün.
Fun back and forth between Jalen Green and Isaac Okoro here pic.twitter.com/7nUdCRbYmq
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) August 8, 2021
During Ice’s 27 minutes on the floor, the Cavs posted an excellent 117.2 offensive rating. The only blemish on the offensive end was Ice’s three turnovers, but obviously that’s due in part to unfamiliarity with his Summer League teammates and the “new” position he was playing at combo guard. The main nitpick on Ice’s game was the lack of defense, with zero stocks and the Cavs posting an abysmal 119.5 defensive rating while he was on the floor. There’s no doubt that Ice will learn from that and the expectation should be that he’ll bring it next game defensively.
Winthrop product Chandler Vaudrin was the most pleasant surprise of the evening for the Cavs. While Vaudrin didn’t display any scoring acumen, he did show off his ability to impact the game without scoring and contribute to team success. In the 12 minutes Vaudrin played, the Cavs posted a 152.7 offensive rating and 100.9 defensive rating. The energy Vaudrin brought on both ends of the court was obvious, posting a 6.8% offensive rebound rate and 4.2% steal rate. Vaudrin deserved more than the 12 minutes he received, especially given the struggles of Brodric Thomas (1-10, 2 TO, – 16) and Trevon Bluiett (2-9‰on the night. Hopefully the Cavs’ Summer League coaching staff takes a more extended look at Vaudrin to see if there’s anything actually there with the Uniontown, Ohio native.
The Evan Mobley Experience
Evan Mobley’s debut with the Cavs was essentially true to form given his tape and statistical production at USC. Starting off with the good, Mobley will be a defensive terror in the NBA. The Cavs posted an elite 105.6 defensive rating in the 28 minutes Mobley was on the court. Mobley sported an elite 9.5% block rate, which would put him in the 99th percentile of NBA players had this been a regular season game. Mobley’s 1.8% steal rate would rank around the top quartile of NBA players. The fact that Mobley came out and dominated immediately on defense is an encouraging sign. However for Mobley and Cavs fans, there is much work to be done for Mobley to really shine in the NBA.
The first concern off the top for Mobley was his inability to keep Alperin Şengün off the boards on the defensive end. Mobley’s 9.3% defensive rebound rate is embarrassing for a man his length. The lack of defensive rebounding prohibits Mobley from unlocking opportunities to use his excellent handles and vision in transition. The easiest way for Mobley to get the ball in his hands is to rebound it and run. Here’s to hoping the Cavs’ coaching staff being in Mobley’s ear to emphasize improving this weakness, which was known prior to the draft.
The bigger concern for Mobley was how lost he was on offense. The Cavs posted an unacceptable 61.8 offensive rating while Mobley was on the floor. Mobley was the consummate bricklayer (.336 TS%) and turnover machine (5 TO, 21.9 TO%). Now to be fair to Mobley and to contextualize his offensive performance, the coaching staff and players on the court did him zero favors.
First off, the Cavs perimeter players en masse simply were unwilling or incapable of getting Mobley the ball in his spots in rhythm. It was obvious to Altman in the live interview, obvious to Summer League head coach J.J. Outlaw, and obvious even to NBA fans watching the game and commenting on Twitter. Good things were happening on offense when Mobley touched the ball, he just didn’t touch nearly enough especially in the first half. Secondly, the Cavs Summer League roster doesn’t really have any capable outside shooters to space the floor. The Cavs shot 21.9% from three on 32 attempts in the game. The paint was a clogged toilet, with no avenues for Mobley to pressure the rim.
Thirdly, it’s unclear whether the Cavs’ coaching staff actually knows how to use Mobley on offense. Mobley’s offensive game is facing up and attacking the rim with the right hand, pulling up for the midrange jumper, or using his vision to create an easy look for his teammates. Mobley needs to be surrounded by three point shooters to give him space to operate in the paint. For whatever the reason, the Cavs wanted Mobley with his back to the basket in the post on more than one occasion, something that rarely, if ever, happened at USC. It would’ve been slightly less absurd to just let Mobley run the Nikola Jokić point center offense at the top of the key since the perimeter passing wasn’t getting it done, it’s Summer League after all.
Don’t be mistaken, it isn’t all doom and gloom for the Evan Mobley Experience. Rookie bigs need a lot of time to adjust to the NBA game. There were flashes of brilliance offensively, so the burden is on the Cavs’ coaching staff and guards to ensure Cavs’ fans see Mobley dominate.
Quick Notes on the Houston Rockets
Goodness, Jalen Green and Alperin Şengün appear to be home run draft picks for the Houston Rockets. Sengun turned in a stellar double double with 15 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and a steal while Green lead all players with an efficient 23 points. Green’s shotmaking was on full display, taking and making Harden stepbacks and Michael Jordan fadeaways with Stevens and Okoro at times draped all over him. Even non-lottery pick Josh Christopher showed a well-rounded game that can translate to the NBA. James Harden who???
Up Next: Cavs vs. Magic
The Cavs will take on Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, and the Orlando Magic Summer League team on Wednesday evening, 6 PM Eastern time on ESPN2. GO CAVS!
FYI, got the Live Thread up for this evening
Don’t forget, Cavs-Raps today at 6:00pm. Will be cool to see Okoro, Mobley, and Suggs.
what a steal !! what a steal !! you know who i am referring to.. and throughout the league and thru the eras, there have been more than a few steals of note.. watching sengun (although i don’t watch, i just check the stats from time to time), i am asking myself, “So, should Kolby Numnuts have traded the rights to mobley to get sengun ?” from the last few games, looks like a strong maybe.. but i was listening to the ringer, and they made sense at the time, and the cav-nots have no record of competence at drafting,… Read more »
Carlos Boozer. :(
damn…. that’s tough LMFAOOOOOOOOOO
to be rated a legitimate NBA franchise, i think you need AT LEAST one consensus WAFS “steal: every 10 years..
i am not sure that is a joke, but if i read the colon and parenthesis correctly , i assume that is meant to be an amusing data point that proves my point
Yeah, I think Nate’s agreeing with you, and lamenting at both the fact he’s one of the few, and how the Cavs lost him too.
Boobie Gibson.
boobie was an adequate player.. no way he qualifies as “WAFS”
Kevin Porter Jr? Too soon? Seriously, Delly is our last one (undrafted).
Most steals are usually mid first round or second round guys. We traded away picks for players in LeBron’s second run (1sts and 2nds). We usually end up picking high or really low (LeBron years). Can you get a steal at 5?
Another thing most steals have is a solid foundation/system in which to flourish. A solid system that hides their flaws and accentuates their positives. We don’t got that. LeBron had no interest in rooks (Joe Harris).
we gave the gangsta away.. it proves my point.. decades of idiocy and incompetence is the way of the cav-nots.. only LBJ’s birthplace and the luck of the draw in ’03 saved the franchise from 3 decades of ridicule
Joe Harris and Danny Green once upon a time as well (not Holy Shit, but these players significantly over-indexed their draft position). It seems like rarely do late draft picks blossom in Cleveland which is maybe a better question. In the “analytic era” we have only had two opportunities to see a rebuild. The first one “worked” — we lucked out with Kyrie, hit on TT and stockpiled enough to lure back LBJ (though Waiters, GumDrop Bear, and Kerasev are all out of league) This one we cannot judge yet but so far I would grade them at a C+.… Read more »
none of the examples provided come close to supporting the proposition that the cav-nots can even identify talent, much less develop it.. the cavs would have been better off picking draftees based upon mailed-in suggestions from the fans.. and think of the money saved by eliminating the front-office.. and at least then, the fans would only have themselves to blame, howeverr, i suggest that the results would likely have been better than what was built by the “pros”
So specifically, what move have they made in this rebuild that you think was incompetent? KPJ release? based on reports, I am not sure they had a choice, can’t let a guy comeback after behaving like a total jack@$$ (he could self sabotage in HOU any minute) Kevin Love Extension – yep i agree this was dumb. but who else were they going to pay? who could we have signed with the extra cap space? Sending Drummond home – whatever. They wanted to see Allen in a dead season (now AD is a min player on phili) Any of the… Read more »
The stupid thing was modeling the structure of the franchise on Portland’s “success” (1 WCF appearance getting swept by the KDless Dubs) with Lillard/McCollum. Mostly out in round 1, otherwise. And the stocking of the roster with small guards and bigs while neglecting wings and shooting. It isn’t so much that this particular move was stupid in isolation. It’s that the moves don’t make a lot of sense in the context of the moves made before it. Thus, the sum is less than the whole of the parts when it should be more. We don’t do anything well. Shoot, score,… Read more »
True…. and depressing!!!
The depth and breadth of our suckatude is unparalleled. Find something we do well. Offense: PPG? 30th. ORtg? 28th. FG%? 25th. 3PT%? 30th. 3PT attemps? 28th. 2PT%? 26th. eFG%? 29th. TOV%? 29th. Assists? 21st. Defense: PPG 17th (largely a function of being 25th in Pace). DRtg? 25th. Opp FG%? 29th. Opp 3PT%? 28th. Opp eFG%? 28th. Opp 2PT%? 27th. Defensive Reb%? 26th. Blocks? 20th. Steals at 12th is not bad, but I fear we gamble too much and give up too much easy stuff. Our FT rate is 7th, that is legit good. Our OReb% is 7th, that is legit… Read more »
Don’t recall if you were there, but the team traded a few years of future to try to surround LeBron with guys he wanted. Did you complain about that at the time? Didn’t think so.
The then future is the now now, so quit the whining.
As for “stocking of the roster with small guards and bigs while neglecting wings and shooting”:
So far the Cavs have had high four picks, so count me as not astounded that your entire wish list has not been filled.
Don’t recall anyone saying “I hope all the guards are small, cause the smaller the better”. Rather, a lot of people thought Garland was going to be pretty good. And so far he is looking the part.
Agree they stink and were the worst team in the league for most of the year (May be the worst this year too) So why? If I had to power rank I would say: 1. LBJ all in moves for four years 2. Extending love who has been a zero (maybe that $$ could have been used to better stock the asset cupboard) 3. Missed out on Luka and Zion lotto luck (Trae Ja as well) 3. We aren’t a big market team and have to be perfect in the margins and will never get Miami/LA type discounts or requests… Read more »
I don’t think it’s accurate to say they wanted to model their structure after Portland. I genuinely believe they just had Sexton and Garland as their highest rated available in their respective drafts, and went with the “we need to maximize the most talent available approach”. I don’t remember if the idea of hey! we have our own Dame and CJ duo now! was media driven, or generated within the Cavs org… While it’s true the Cavs did nothing to dispel that narrative (they want to sell tickets), I don’t think it was the motivation behind drafting both players. I… Read more »
yeah that’s fair.
there you go using logic. you are giving someone a headache.
so what was ctb consensus on cade vs jalen ?
neck and neck…. Cade’s smooth, solid defensively, longer.
but Green is an absolute monster athlete and playing in the G League definitely gave him a leg up on everyone except for Sengun LMFAOOOOO
Yeah. Both look like they could be very good. I think Cade’s success is gonna push a lot of guys to the G-league.
100% agree, plus the 500k??? No-brainer
I meant Green’s
Damn Sengun incredible sequence, stuffed Cade at the rim, forced a steal for a break out dunk, then one handed oop slam at the rim… Dude is showing out in Vegas!!!
man…. I love Sengun, ridiculous behind the back to spin move drive. Just a pure hooper.
In spite of being turnover machines, Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper playing solidly offensively again.
Sharife Cooper best player on teh court and just hit a game winning 3 to win the game.
Jalen Johnson’s activity on the boards forced the offensive rebound to win the game.
Are we convinced that the Cavs have the coaching staff to truly unlock Mobley’s have?
Would feel more confident if Gottlieb was still around and Buck was leading the guys in Vegas.
But on the plus side, Outlaw seemed to understand the problems last game, and Koby understood as well.
Less convinced Koby has the ability to put a team around Mobley to help him succeed.
I do not think Mobley is the kind if guy you build around. At least offensively. He’s a long way from that at the moment. We have 4-6 guys who are better offensively (Garland, Love, Rubio, and Sexton for sure, maybe LNJ & Allen).
Now, on defense, I think he will be a positive force in relatively short order, if not immediately. If used correctly on O he could also be a positive, but he is not a focal point.
I would disagree… I think he is a guy whom you can build around offensively. the ability to put consistent pressure on the rim and pass are two the skills to become an offensive hub, and he has those skills according to his tape. It’s a matter of putting the right pieces around him to succeed.
I think you build around him because, if you don’t at least tailor your team and offense to his strengths, you end up never giving him a chance to be a star.
Bingo… he went 3rd in the draft because of the offensive star potential.
Absolutely no one would’ve had him that high in the draft thinking he was just going to be a low usage big.
agree he will not be an offensive focal point any time soon. But he is only 20 and tall guys usually mature later. For example, I recall a local 7′ kid who wound up in the Big 10. He was only 16 in 12th grade. I was matched with him in a couple pickup games when I was maybe 50 and 6-2, 250. I felt bad about pushing him around cause he was just a skinny kid, but you gotta win to keep playing. (He also had not yet learned to never let old guys shoot 3’s). If he had… Read more »
This is a great article on Mobley…. pretty much saw the exact same thing:
https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/early-returns-thoughts-on-evan-mobleys-summer-league-debut
Suggs looked great. IDK why Toronto took Barnes
Barnes played pretty well too…. both seemed to show out, which is cool.
GOOD JOB AND THANK YOU CLF——I RETAIN MY OPINION —“SUMMER LEAGUE IS WHAT IT IS “—–I DON’T TAKE TOO MUCH INTO THE STAT LINE —-HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST WHERE SUMMER LEAGUE STARS HAVE WASHED OUT AND VICE VERSA——MOBLEY –I THINK WE ALL AGREE EVEN HEADED INTO THE DRAFT WON’T SHOW HIS TRUE POTENTIAL UNTIL ABOUT YEAR 3 —( AFTER SOME GROWTH / STRENGTH AND OFFENSIVE REFINEMENT ) —-SORRY TO HEAR WHATEVER COMMENTS MADE BY KOBY ABOUT “CABIN JELLY ” —-I WOULD HOPE HE IS AUDITIONING TO MAKE THE CAVS MAKE A DECISION TO KEEP HIM OR RESIGN “HARD ROCK… Read more »
Thank you and you’re welcome NOMAD!
Yup, Mobley’s offensive game will take a lot of time to figure out… but glad the defense is there already.
Yeah, Koby’s comment was basically to the effect of Kabengele’s not in the Cavs’ future plans…. an off the cuff comment he shouldn’t have made publicly IMO.
I only wish Altman was not in our future plans.
A stupid statement about any player on SL. Particularly one who played pretty well. And it makes him look even dumber for letting Hartenstein walk.
Fantastic recap, Chris. The one thing I’d note about Mobley: he was clearly winded and not in cardio shape yet. It led to most of hIs inability to score and unwillingness to rebound. He also needs to work on core/lower body cause cause Sengun was owning him defensively with Mobley’s inability to carve space in the post. That being said, while post-ups aren’t his game, summer league is the place to work on it.
Finally, his slow release and offensive processing led to the nickname Slowbley on the Aussie twitters according to Simmo. Hope he sheds that moniker.
The slow release doesn’t worry me yet. While I agree that it needs to be addressed he has a good form that’s a great foundation to build upon.
For his offensive awareness, it would be great to have a real scheme to be run for him to get acclimated. He will not have it in the summer league unfortunately.
Yup, went back and looked at his highlights again at USC….. outside of some pet plays for Mobley, a lot of his offensive production came from getting the ball at the top of key and dribble driving into the paint to finish or the PnR.
We saw the PnR last night, but we really didn’t see the ISO creation from the perimeter.
Thank you Nate!!! 100% agree, he was definitely winded, and he played a crap ton of minutes relative to everyone on the Cavs.
LMFAOOOOOOo Simmo is one clever and funny Aussie!!! ;)
For the record, I was happy with Mobley’s performance. It’s gonna take time for him, like most big guys. The “Slowbley” comment was some Anonymous Coward who was constantly taking potshots at the Cavs in my feed.
Appreciate the write up. Would be awesome if the org could turn Lamar Stevens into a useful rotation player (9th man type of player).
Any good articles out there about correlation between Summer League and NBA success? Mobley likely not a consistently winning player until year 2 or 3 would be my guess based on top big prospects in recent drafts?
There are articles out there that have studied the correlation from Summer League to NBA success…. certain stats depending on position are indicative, and the general consensus from statisticians is that there is a correlation.
Got a hit on this bleacher report article, among other better articles:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/424615-is-the-nba-summer-league-a-good-indicator-the-answer-may-surprise
Nice write up.
Zero confidence in the Cavs coaching staff or FO to develop players or use them correctly.
LMFAOOOO I know right??? A friend from NBA twitter chat joked now he knows why Mobley didn’t workout for the Cavs LMFAOOOOOO
I am always suspect of guys that don’t work out or attend pre-draft camps. Probably their agents tell them not to, in addition to the ones who are really overrated, so not sure how much this matters.
But I still recall the giant guy from BYU (Bradley?) that went on a mission, and then wouldn’t work out for anyone but went #1 or #2, and turned out to be a GDLS (GumDrop Level Stiff).
Nice writeup, Chris. Regarding Şengün, he looked good, but not sold on him in the real NBA yet. He can do some things, but he’s most likely going to get clowned as a defender. Worthwhile draft pick for them, anyway.
Wish we could have seen 10 minutes of Mobley and DG together. Thomas was roouughhh.
He seemed fine. Good core/lower body. His neck is so long he really plays more like 6-8. He actually reminds me a ton of a young kevin love.
Love was a frequent comparison for him coming into the draft. I have very little doubt he will produce on offense.
IDK, Sengun’s feel for the game and anticipation I think makes up for his lack of athleticism…. he looked completely unbothered by NBA speed.