The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an impressive season thus far, winning 51 games and finishing with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
They have earned their first playoff berth since LeBron James’ final season with them five years ago, and plenty of people feel they’re a dark-horse contender to reach the NBA Finals.
Cleveland has gotten this far on the strength of their defense, as they finished the regular season with the best defensive rating in the league.
A big reason why has been the play of second-year big man Evan Mobley, and thus he has the opportunity to become the youngest man ever to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Fun Fact: Evan Mobley would be the youngest player (21) in NBA history to win DPOY. pic.twitter.com/m28zR8rBxd
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 14, 2023
For the first half or so of this season, Mobley hadn’t shown any real improvement over his rookie season, and some around the league criticized him as a result.
But he came on strong afterward, especially on the offensive end as he increased his scoring average.
On the season as a whole, Mobley averaged 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocked shots a game while upping his shooting efficiency from 50.8 percent last year to 55.4 percent this year.
But defensively he is turning into a monster, and he and fellow starting big man Jarrett Allen have allowed the Cavs to close off the paint and make opponents rely heavily on jump shots.
They will have their hands full in the first round of the playoffs when they face the New York Knicks, a team that ranked third in offensive rating in the regular season.
However, Cleveland may have caught a break, as Knicks star Julius Randle has a sprained ankle, and his status for Game 1 is in doubt.
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