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The Cleveland Cavaliers have to be pleased that they got away with a 113-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night after a lethargic performance almost all night long. However, the Cavs have to be concerned that they barely got over the injury-ravaged Nuggets and that Evan Mobley doesn’t look anywhere close to being at his best, particularly on offense, since returning from a calf injury.

Mobley finished with just eight points on 4-10 shooting from the field, and he missed all five of his free-throw attempts. He made up for it with some good defense, but for someone the Cavs look at as a franchise cornerstone, this is the kind of scoring night that simply should not exist for him.

Specifically, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson did not like the fact that Mobley wasn’t able to impose his will against a depleted Nuggets frontcourt that was starting sophomore DaRon Holmes II at center amid Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas’ injury problems.

“Then just, generally, we gotta be stronger with the ball at the rim. Evan, like c’mon man. I love Ev, but we got an advantage inside. If we’re gonna throw it to these guys, they gotta do more with it,” Atkinson said, via @RealCavsFans on X (formerly Twitter).

Kenny calling it like it is:

“Our offense was just really bad. … Stagnant, iso, not moving it, so that was the negative. … We kept telling the guys, okay they’re playing zone, but we can still play with pace. We don’t have to hold it, take 10 dribbles and jack a three. …… pic.twitter.com/xj0n3W8sUu

— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 3, 2026

Will Evan Mobley ever take the leap on offense for the Cavs?

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Cavs are facing a bit of a conundrum; they see Mobley as the primary star of the team and the future of the franchise, but he’s not nearly good enough on offense yet to become the best player on a championship-winning team.

Mobley is posting worse numbers than he did last year, and he’s profiling as more of a worse Anthony Davis or Kevin Garnett on the offensive end. And at this point, this may simply be who the Cavs star is.

The post Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson calls out Evan Mobley for underwhelming performance vs. Nuggets appeared first on Cavs Nation.

It’s safe to say the Cleveland Cavs’ Christmas Day hangover is in the rearview after two impressive wins against the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs to close out the calendar year. The Cavs followed up their 113-101 victory against the Spurs with a 129-113 win against the Suns on New Year’s Eve.

Donovan Mitchell’s 34 points led six Cavs players in double figures, including Darius Garland (19 points), and Jaylon Tyson, whose 18 points led the bench. Evan Mobley (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Jarrett Allen (16 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.

Since a 117-100 blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day, the Cavs seem to have found their focus. Cleveland improved to 19-16 on the season

Kenny Atkinson baffled by Cavs’ Christmas hangover’

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cavs lacked effort in their 17-point loss to the Rockets on Christmas Day. While some wondered if the lackluster season would lead to Kenny Atkinson’s job being on the line, according to a new report.

Atkinson says he could feel the Cavs’ demise in the first quarter against the Rockets.

“I rarely say this, but I thought the game was over in the first quarter,” Atkinson said. “Their physicality, we weren’t ready for the fight. I don’t know how else to say it. Encouraged after the Knicks’ game because we were ready for the fight, but [Saturday], call it what you want. Christmas hangover? I have no idea. It’s hard for me to [describe]. It wasn’t the same team that played the other night against the Knicks.”

The Cavs will look to make it three in a row when they host the Nuggets on Friday.

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With the Cleveland Cavaliers currently slugging through a disappointing season compared to last year, it comes as no surprise that Cavs players, namely Darius Garland, are starting to generate trade buzz across the NBA. But teams hoping to pry a Cavs player or two by the trade deadline should pump the brakes just a bit, as per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Despite the Cavs being 17-15 and nowhere near the level of play they sustained last year, there is reportedly no inkling from the team that they would be willing to entertain trade offers for Darius Garland or any other key piece on the team, Fischer reports.

Fischer suggests that much of the Garland trade rumors come from a couple of seasons ago when he reportedly was looking to be moved to the San Antonio Spurs to play alongside Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs eventually found their lead guard for Wembanyama in De’Aaron Fox.

However, while the Cavs have not indicated that they’re currently looking to jettison any key pieces by this year’s deadline, that might change in the coming offseason, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. During a recent episode of ‘ClutchScoops,’ Siegel suggested that once the season is over is when the Cavs could decide to make major changes.

“There’s no indication that they’re going to blow things up at the trade deadline,” Siegel said. “Looking ahead, I think the question for this team is not what moves they’ll make before the trade deadline necessarily, but what this is gonna look like in the offseason.”

It’s not surprising to see why a player like Garland would be heavily coveted by opposing teams. Despite some injury issues, he’s proven to be an All-Star caliber guard. He’s appeared in 17 games this season at a little over 30 minutes per game.

He’s been averaging 17.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists with splits of 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 37.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 87.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

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