Kendrick Perkins rips Evan Mobley for impact vs. Pistons: ‘You finish the game with one rebound?

The Cleveland Cavaliers failed to steal a game from the Detroit Pistons on the road in Games 1 and 2 of their second-round series, putting the squad in an 0-2 hole heading into Game 3.

Much has been made about the poor play of veteran guard James Harden in the second round, but former Cavs big man Kendrick Perkins isn’t letting 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley off the hook either.

Perkins had a lot to say about Mobley on Friday and took a particular issue with the 24-year-old’s rebounding performance in Game 2.

“I’ll be damned if we gonna end this conversation and I’ma let Evan Mobley off the hook,” Perkins said. “I’ll be damned. Former Defensive Player of the Year, you finish the game with one rebound in a series that you know you gotta come with a certain level of physicality? Unacceptable.

“… It’s not all about scoring when you can impact the game. Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) has showed us that. … Evan Mobley, it’s other ways to impact the damn game.

“Now, it’s on Coach Atkinson to get you the damn ball in position when you need to score, but finishing the game with one rebound, I could go get two rebounds right now.”

Mobley failed to make much of an impact as a scorer or rebounder in Game 2, as he finished with just nine points and the one board that Perkins mentioned. He did chip in with four assists, three blocks and three steals, but it wasn’t enough for the Cavs to leave Detroit with a victory.

In Game 1 of the series, Mobley had a better performance on the glass, totaling nine rebounds. He also had 14 points, five assists and two blocks.

Cleveland is going to need to get a spark from somewhere in order to get back into the series, and Mobley is a good candidate to be that guy. A strong performance on the boards in Game 3 would certainly be a positive sign.

Overall in these playoffs, the one-time All-Star is averaging 16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest while shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The Cavs are now in a position where they almost certainly need to win Game 3 (and would be doing themselves a big favor by winning Game 4 as well) in order to keep their hopes of a deep playoff run alive. After struggling to get past the Toronto Raptors in the first round, Cleveland hasn’t shown many reasons for optimism against Detroit, but there is still time.

Game 3 between the Cavs and Pistons will take place Saturday before Game 4 rolls around on Monday.