Cavs' Evan Mobley faces big matchup against Raptors' Scottie Barnes

INDEPENDENCE — It quite possibly could be the most important matchup of the playoff series. Cleveland's Evan Mobley will be assigned the task of slowing down Toronto's Scottie Barnes in the first-round, best-of-seven series that starts Saturday at Rocket Arena. The two players have a long history of competing head-to-head. It started during the 2021 draft when Mobley was the third overall pick by the Cavaliers and the 6-foot-8, 237-pound Barnes went one pick later to the Raptors. Barnes got one up on his rival when he won the Rookie of the Year award, narrowly beating out the 7-foot, 230-pound Mobley. Last year, Mobley took a giant leap when he was named Defensive Player of the Year, made the All-Star team and was a All-NBA second-team choice. Barnes has been a two-time All-Star in his career. The two 24-year-olds will forever be tethered together because of where they were drafted. Their games are different, though, as Barnes is more of a playmaker and a connector. Mobley is better defensively, on the boards and as a rim protector. Neither player is a great shooter, even though Barnes has a strong midrange game. Mobley led the league in dunks for the second season in a row. Mobley started the season with extremely high expectations. His coach, Kenny Atkinson, said he could finish in the top five in MVP voting. Atkinson also wanted Mobley to evolve into a "stretch 4," shoot a lot more 3-pointers and handle the ball. He struggled in the early going. "He had a mentality switch post All-Star," Atkinson said. "He came back (from the All-Star break) with a chip on his shoulder. He wasn't happy with the way the first half finished." The Cavs coach said he still believes that Mobley can evolve into that top-five finisher in the MVP voting. It's just not going to happen this year. Adding point guard James Harden at the trade deadline has helped Mobley's game. He has developed a strong two-man game with Harden. Mobley said the two players have done a lot of film study to help with the transition. "I'm learning what his cues are," he said. "Sometimes you can't say anything. You just have to look. Once I learned that, it became very easy. I think our two-man game is one of the best in the league right now." Atkinson said Mobley's game has developed this season. "Evan is in a good place now," he said. "He's got all the tools." Guard Donovan Mitchell said teams must pay so much attention to Harden and himself. "Now that we've added another dynamic guard, you'll see (Mobley) thrive," he said. Mobley admits that he had a rocky start to the season. "Now, I have a more focused role," he said. "I'm in a good spot now." Mobley's numbers are very similar to Barnes'. The Cavs power forward averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 blocks in 65 games. He shot .546 from the field, .297 from the 3-point line and a career-low .606 from the free-throw line. Barnes averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks in 80 games. He shot .507 from the field, .304 from the 3-point line and .815 from the foul line. "It's a good matchup," Mobley said of facing his rival. "Toronto is a good team. They have a lot of length and size. They are going to come out and try to play physical. We have to match that and exceed that. It's going to be a good matchup." Contact Bob Finnan at (440) 329-7135 or rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.