Borrowing something from the cultural zeitgeist and then rebranding it into something new has a large set of unwritten rules, and most likely one of them is that dated references can show their age pretty easily. Seems easy enough to accept if you also accept the fact that there are unwritten rules for such things and I can just arbitrarily do what I want with them, but that’s just science folks, unquestionable in this day and age. Ahem. But I’d like to think there’s something deeper here at play. Call Me Maybe is a great anthem and bubblegum pop track, of course, we all know that. But that it alludes to the inconvenience that love at first sight brings to a girl greater depth and meaning to the forefront and ultimately addresses the current relationship you might have right now with Evan Mobley. Crazy, right? Yeah, probably, but that’s the content of this post and we’re doing it live. Not really live, but who doesn’t need another old reference?
So how does Evan Mobley equate to hoping to get a call back from a new crush? Well silly, that’s the easy part. Already in full hype-mode, the season Mobley has put together is already starting the Rookie of the Year chatter. Coming off a game against the Knicks where he scored 26 points, nabbed nine rebounds, and added five assists all with a 73.3 FG% and one block, it’s easy to see why, and that’s just the offensive side of the ball. Continually building on his 13.8 PTS, 7.9 REB, and 2.3 AST averages on the year, I think we all knew he was going to be good, but this good? Fantasy basketball love at a first sight if there ever was. I mean, this could be the next iteration of Tim Duncan if everything goes right. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
And while I can admit that it’s easy to go full-hyperbole over such a heralded college big man, it’s not as easy to see that hyperbole evolve into a factual statement. In fact, that most excitable projections probably didn’t have Mobley playing like this until at least a few seasons under his belt. If he even wears a belt, who knows what crazy things the kids are doing nowadays? Tide bombs, not wearing belts, crazy times! And I’m not just name-dropping Tim Duncan nonchalantly, in fact as part of his preseason hype you had Anthony Davis comps being dropped regularly by mainstream publications, but that comparison actually drives the point home either further. Because of his success at USC, his frame, agility, and prowess, professional analysts (just like your mom) found it easy to label him an impact playmaker and a top defensive anchor in the paint. So that’s the hype, but effectively carving out the caveat that while he’s good and his defense is ready, the offense to be expected was just going to be the cherry on top.
But in a game where Ricky Rubio had arguably the best solo performance in his career (scoring 37 points, hitting eight three-pointers with 10 assists), even he was enamored with Mobley and what he did.
“He’s special and he will be special,” Rubio said of Mobley. “We don’t even know how (high) his potential can be.”
With Mobley on the floor, the Cavs outscored those Knicks by 26 points and figuratively ran circles against All-Star Julius Randle. I specified since you can literally run circles against someone in basketball. I mean, it’s probably not effective, but you can, so there. Not for nothing either, but Mobley also became the first rookie since Blake Griffin in 2011 to record at least 26 points with those nine rebounds and five assists as well. And not to put too much focus on just this one game, keep in mind that all 11 games so far this season for the Cavs, six of their seven wins have come against 2020 playoff and play-in teams. Of the Cavs’ lineups to net more than 10 total minutes, Mobley is in all the top-five rotations, a fixture in the closing group, he also leads the team in general minutes as well. A good sign not just from Mobley, but from Coach J.B. Bickerstaff as well.
Honestly, when you get right down to it, this timeline we’re currently stuck in is pretty goofy, and I don’t even have to get specific with the last couple of years we’ve had to reinforce that statement. And while I doubt many had “the Cavaliers being good again” on that list, I’m here to tell you that a huge part of that is Evan Mobley, the dude we’ve been wanting to call us, maybe. And that’s the point, I think it’s okay to be a little nervous, a little uncertain, a little anxious about him too. After all, how many Tim Duncan’s have we had besides, you know, Tim Duncan? But in a draft class that has been pretty exceptional in its value throughout and riddled with other star-potential across the board, Mobley has been just one-in-six that has a positive net rating.
Evan Mobley Call Me Maybe? Call Me Definitely.
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell. You can follow him on Twitter @jaywrong.
