The Detroit Pistons took a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 107-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 on Thursday night.
After the game, 850 ESPN Cleveland focused on the performance from Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley as a big reason for the loss, and radio host Nick Paulus went off about the 2024-25 NBA All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year.
“Evan Mobley finished the game with one rebound,” co-host Chris Oldach said to set it up. “Nine points, one rebound.”
“1 REBOUND???? CHRIS THAT’S ONE MORE REBOUND THAN YOU AND I COMBINED,” – @NickPaulus is CRASHING out over Evan Mobley’s stat line tonight.
Do you expect more from Mobley? pic.twitter.com/zIXuinMFBU
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) May 8, 2026
“YOU’RE SEVEN FEET TALL!” Paulus ranted about Mobley. “GOD BLESSED YOU WITH THE ABILITY TO REBOUND THE BLEEPING BALL! YOU KNOW WHY YOU DIDN’T GET A SINGLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR VOTE THIS YEAR? AFTER WINNING THE BLEEPING AWARD LAST YEAR? ONE REBOUND?”
“CHRIS, THAT’S ONE MORE REBOUND THAN YOU AND I COMBINED!” Paulus continued. “WHAT A JOKE!”
Mobley averaged 9.0 rebounds in the regular season and 8.6 rebounds in the first round vs. the Toronto Raptors, and he had nine rebounds in Game 1 against the Pistons, so this one-rebound performance was certainly bizarre. All other Cavs players who played more than six minutes on Thursday night had at least three rebounds, for example.
And if Mobley isn’t going to rebound or do the dirty work (he did have three blocks and three steals, at least), the Cavaliers need him to be more productive offensively. He scored nine points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and didn’t get to the foul line. In the regular season, he was third on Cleveland in scoring at 18.2 points per game.
Expect Mobley to be very motivated to play better in what’s essentially a must-win Game 3 for the Cavs on Saturday in Cleveland. But if he puts together another poor performance, you can be sure that Paulus will have a heck of a rant after the game.
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