Donovan Mitchell wants Evan Mobley to be more aggressive
His teammates and everyone in the building believe there is more room for growth for him this season. In a recent Hoops Wire article, writer Ashish Mathur wrote about a new Taylor Rooks interview with Donovan Mitchell and his thoughts on his teammate Evan Mobley being more aggressive.
"Mobley won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and made his first All-Star team last season. He averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Cavaliers during the regular season.
'Evan doesn't even know what he is yet,' Mitchell said. 'I've seen it in flashes. The Boston series, when I was out, he was him. Defensive Player of the Year at 23. First-Team All-Defense. But offensively? He's just scratching the surface. He has it.
'Now it's about aggression, consistency, demanding the ball. That's what I keep telling him. No, we need more. Demand it. If I don't pass you the ball, get on my ass. If DG (Darius Garland) don't give you the ball, get on his ass.'
Mathur also provided Cleveland general manager Koby Altman's thoughts on Evan Mobley's potential ascent.
'We're going to go as a franchise as Evan is going to go,' Altman said. 'We've had that conversation with Evan. In the playoffs, we need more. We need more than 13 field goal attempts per game — that's new for Evan. There's another jump. And so to that point, Kenny (Atkinson)'s going to be able to implement his offseason program, which we're very excited about. And we're going to see some internal growth there, and we think we have one of the best big men in the game in Evan Mobley.'
Evan Mobley had career highs in points per game (18.5) and free throw percentage (72.5) last season. However it is still evident, especially to his teammates, that there is another level he can go to as a scorer. We could see Evan Mobley reach All-Star status once again this next season, but this time as a 20 points per game scorer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
Steph Curry lands in top five of Hoops Hype's top-26 point guards for 2025-26 season
With the offseason slowing down and the start of training camp around the corner, Hoops Hype is preparing for the start of the upcoming season with their set of projected rankings of the top-26 point guards for the 2025-26 season. Frank Urbina and the Hoops Hype team ranked Steph Curry just inside the top five on the list of projections at No. 5 overall. Urbina called Curry's ranking at No. 5 one of the "hotter takes" in this set of projections. Via Hoops Hype: Our logic isn't overly complicated. We're just taking into account the fact that Curry is 37 years old with a lot of miles on his body, along with the fact that there are a good amount of elite point guards projected to have big seasons in 2025-26. Read the full breakdown on Curry's ranking and the rest of the projections via Hoops Hype here. Despite Curry's age at 37, the sharpshooting guard is coming off another productive season, earning All-Star honors and a spot on the second-team All-NBA. While helping lead the Warriors through the play-in game to the second round of the postseason, Curry averaged 24.5 points on 44.8% shooting from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc while adding six assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. Alongside Jimmy Butler, the Warriors will need Curry to have another signature campaign in 2025-26 to compete for a spot in the playoffs. The four players landing in front of Curry in the top five included Detroit's Cade Cunningham (No. 4), New York's Jalen Brunson (No. 3), Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (No. 2), and reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 1). This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
NBC News
11 minutes ago
- NBC News
Red Sox sign rookie Roman Anthony to $130 million contract
BOSTON — The Red Sox signed rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract on Wednesday, spending some of the cash they saved by trading Rafael Devers away on a player they hope will be the centerpiece of the next generation of Boston stars. The 21-year-old outfielder, who has 159 major league at-bats so far, is signed through 2033, with a team option for 2034. The deal was announced with the Red Sox on a seven-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals. "We're playing such great baseball. I didn't want to be a distraction to anyone," Anthony said in a pregame news conference attended by his parents and sister and teammates along with members of the ballclub's ownership, front office and coaching staff. "But I knew that this is where I wanted to be, and I'm having a blast. And I just wanted to continue that." Anthony was hitless in four at-bats on Wednesday, including a 374-foot fly ball that was caught above the short right field wall by Royals outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. He is batting .276 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 47 games since making his debut in June. The team is 32-16 since his call-up, including a 10-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break and seven straight wins when he signed his deal. "This is a guy who was the No. 1 prospect in the sport. We've seen the impact that he's had on our major league team in just over 150 at-bats," Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said. "And so when we think about the future of this organization, there's no question that it got brighter today." Anthony's nine-figure deal, which includes a $30 million team option for 2034, buys out his five or six years of team control, and at least two seasons of free agency. He could still become a free agent at 30. "I don't know what the future holds, but I believe that I will be the best version of myself every single day," said Anthony, who received a big cheer when he came to the plate in the first inning. "It was a deal that was obviously more than enough for me and for my family and at a place that I want to be in." The Red Sox have struggled to hold onto their homegrown stars lately, trading away 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts when they couldn't sign him and then watching Xander Bogaerts leave as a free agent. The team appeared to break the trend when it signed Rafael Devers to a 10-year, $313 million deal in 2023; instead, it traded him away this season when he refused to change fielding positions. The roster churn has led to just one postseason appearance in the past six years, as well as a feeling among fans that the team isn't willing to spend what it takes to compete for championships. "Yes, in the past when we haven't signed homegrown players, it's hurt," team president Sam Kennedy said. But Anthony now joins pitcher Brayan Bello, outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela and infielder Kristian Campbell as a future core signed to long-term deals. Pitcher Garrett Crochet, who was acquired in a trade, was also signed to an extension that would keep him in Boston until 2031. "We're heading in the right direction. The future organization is in great hands," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game, a 7-3 loss that snapped the team's seven-game winning streak. "If you want to win, year-in and year-out, you need to do that." Anthony said it's a special group to be a part of. "I try not to look too far into the future, but we're having a lot of fun and playing good baseball right now," he said. "It's super exciting when we talk about how young we are and the mix that we have of the great veteran guys that we have. So there's a lot to be excited about." Kennedy acknowledged that the unsteady roster has been difficult on fans, who buy their favorite players' jerseys only to watch them leave. "It's OK to fall in love with our stars, and recognizing that a lot of these guys will be around for a long time," Kennedy said. "We're not done yet, but it's headed in the right direction. And signing our homegrown, young, talented guys is a huge part of that," he said. "That's been the key piece of having success in our time here is locking up our homegrown talent who want to be here."
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
LSU football: Predicting Harold Perkins' stats for the 2025 season
LSU football defender Harold Perkins is back for year four. The five-star recruit was a star as a true freshman in 2022, racking up 41 pressures and 10 sacks. Most of Perkins' snaps in 2022 came as an edge rusher. In 2023, LSU moved Perkins to a traditional inside linebacker role. The results were mixed. Perkins couldn't make the same impact rushing the passer and was inconsistent vs. the run. Perkins improved as the year progressed, especially in pass coverage. In 2024, LSU kept Perkins in an off-ball linebacker role but with added versatility. Still, Perkins wasn't making the same impact he did as a freshman and in week four vs. UCLA, he tore his ACL and was out for the year. Perkins elected to return to LSU for another year in Blake Baker's defense. LSU will slot Perkins at the STAR position -- the hybrid defender that's become critical to defending modern offenses. The thinking is that the STAR position allows Perkins to play in space and lets Baker deploy Perkins all over the field. Brian Kelly said Perkins now has a "complete knowledge" of the game. "He's not just a guy out there running around making plays. He's so much more intentional. He knows the game. He knows the nuances of it," Kelly said. Let's take a look at exactly what LSU fans should expect from Perkins on the field in 2025. Predicting LSU football star Harold Perkins' 2025 stats Perkins will be all over the place in 2025. He won't get the chance to rack up stats in one specific category, but these numbers reflect a strong all-around defender playing at an All-SEC level. Some may be a bit generous given Perkins' last two years and we don't know what he's going to look like, but the reports are positive. Perkins is set to have his best season since the 2022 campaign.
