USC basketball report - Evan Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu need to step up

Nikola Vučević has not been the scoring threat he has shown he can be in the playoffs, but he still has provided a great impact on the Celtics bench. In game 3, Nikola Vučević had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He can make an impact deeper than drilling 3s. For a Boston team that is not as deep as they have been in recent years, he will have his number called a lot as this postseason continues. Right now, he is not required to do as much, but very soon, I expect to see his role increase.

Evan Mobley

Last Monday, Evan Mobley started the week off with a 25-point night, shooting 11-13 from the field, and had 8 rebounds. That type of production propelled the Cavs to a dominant 2-0 start. In the last 2 games, Mobley has struggled. His efficiency is down scoring-wise, but he remains impactful in other categories. In game 3's loss, he had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. In the most recent game, although he had 9 rebounds, the Cavs' offense is not as effective if he only posts 8 points and shoots 0-3. The final score of 93-89 was a direct correlation of that. The Cavs have their next game at home, and game 7, if he goes, will be at Cklevbeland as well. Evan Mobley will need to get back to how domiant he was in games 1-2 for Cleveland to get past a frisky Toronto Raptors team.

Most impactful player so far

In the first round, the most impactful and important player has been Evan Mobley. If Mobley has a good night, the Cavs get a commanding win over Toronto. If he has a poor performance, the Raptors pull off the upset. The rest of this series is predicated on how good Mobley is. I think that is how it will be the rest of the playoffs for Cleveland. That is a big responsibility for Mobley, but he has shown he is more than capable of meeting those expectations.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC basketball winners and losers in 2026 NBA playoffs - April 29