CLEVELAND — Last year, the Cavaliers learned a hard lesson in physicality in their playoff series with the New York Knicks. The first-round playoff exit left a bad taste in the team's mouth. With a full offseason to sit with that taste—and many on the team, including Evan Mobley, used it as fuel.
Mobley, the seven-foot power forward, was playing last season at around 215 pounds. He's tall, but when it came to winning in the paint, he needed some weight. The Knicks out-blocked and out-rebounded the Cavs, most drastically in offensive rebounding. Mobley dedicated himself this offseason to making sure that wouldn't be the case this season.
"Evan Mobley is 22 years old, and we always have to remember that. But at 22, when you invest in your own personal gym at your home, that's a big deal. That's understanding what I have to do to get better, physically," said President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman. "When you invest in your own nutrition program at this age, that’s a big sign that I really care about this thing, and I want to get better."
That's exactly what Mobley did.
"That was a big focus going into this summer. I feel like, as a player, just me growing and getting better; adding that aspect to my off-season work and on-season as well is really going to help me and benefit me. And that's the reason why I chose to do it. Added a weight room into my house and head chef and nutrition as well," Mobley said. "Just trying to build my body up. I feel like your body is the temple, and as long as you keep building that up, everything else will follow."
Mobley's weight room has a full array of equipment for him to utilize every day. From dumbbells and kettlebells to bar weights, Mobley's gym gives him the ability to work on gaining muscle mass.
That also comes down to the nutrition plan.
The 22-year-old has focused on eating right and eating enough to gain muscle mass, which he's helped with by his personal chef. From pasta to steaks, Mobley has been loading up on carbs and protein as he accompanies his meals with the aforementioned weight training. He's adding food to his plate in order to gain muscle mass.
The dedication Mobley has put in this offseason is appreciated by his teammates. Veteran center Tristan Thompson, who recently returned to the Cavs, said what Mobley has done this offseason is what separates the good players from the great ones.
"That's what the great ones do. The great ones go outside the box and do more than what's required. Of course, you can come in and use the team facility, but the ones that are great and have separation are the ones that build out their entire life in terms of tailor-making it to the game. And what you put into the game is what you get out of it, and you're going to see that from him this year," Thompson said.
While what Mobley is doing has impressed the organization, he isn't the only player who has dedicated himself to offseason work.
In fact, what Mobley did this summer was very much in line with many on the team. Donovan Mitchell said he also built a home gym and believes others have similar plans.
"It's easy to work when coaches are around, but it's what you do in the off time, it's what you do in the offseason, it's what you do when no one's watching. And a guy like Ev, going out there making that investment on himself—a guy that's 22—making that investment on yourself, that's huge, that speaks volumes," Mitchell said. "Myself just finished my house and did the same thing. And I think Darius [Garland] is doing the same thing, and it just goes down the line."
With a summer of work set to make the team bigger, better and stronger, it now comes down to translating that work to the courts. With training camp practice underway, that translation is being seen.
At the Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Cavs have gotten to work on their season preparation, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said what makes the offseason work the players put in so special is that while they did work on their game individually, the players have made it a focus to work on things that benefit the team as a whole.
"Even their individual work is aimed at helping the team become better. We don't have guys who go and just work on 'dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble' because it looks good, and it might get them a shot. We have guys that have gone away through the summer, figured out what they did last year, what teams did defensively, how they guarded them, and then now, 'How can I be better at that to make my team better and make my teammates better?'
"This is a great chance—guys typically don't play a lot of defense over the summer, but this is a great chance for guys to come back against you in practice. The opponent is actually defending and defending them in certain ways. And so you can see what they've worked on and see if they're able to make the right read or make the right decision versus however the defense is playing," Bickerstaff said.
The Cavs are gearing up to put the work to the test against a real opponent, with their first preseason game tipping off in Atlanta on Tuesday as they take on the Hawks.
And while there will be plenty to piece together and work on as the regular season approaches, Mobley can already see some of his work producing results. For him, it's feeling more comfortable crashing the boards.
"Definitely rebounding and pushing the ball. That's a big emphasis for us as a team and also me as well, that I worked on in the summer, so I feel like I feel a lot more comfortable with that going into the season," Mobley said.
