Member of Cavs’ 2016 Title Team Encouraged by Evan Mobley in Victory Over Pistons

Channing Frye liked what he saw from the Cleveland Cavaliers in games three and four of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Detroit.

Frye, part of Cleveland’s 2016 championship team, stopped short of saying the current Cavs will advance to the conference finals, but he did take to X (formerly the bird app) to thumb out his positive impressions from both the Cavaliers, and starting forward Evan Mobley, after Cleveland’s Game Four win.

“The Cavs found something,” Frye said on X after the Cavs’ 112-103 win on Monday. “Mitchell went crazy (and so did) the defense, Harden found his touch.”

The Cavs found something. Mitchell went crazy the defense, Harden found his touch. This is gonna be a heavyweight fight these last 3 games
— Channing Frye (@channingfrye) May 12, 2026

He’s not wrong.

Mitchell scored 39 of his 43 points after halftime, which tied an NBA record for the highest scoring half in league playoff history. His backcourt mate, James Harden, added 24 points and 11 assists as Cleveland evened the series with the Pistons at two games apiece.

Harden and Mitchell combined to turn the ball over just three times, despite each playing 37 minutes.

It takes neither a scientist, nor an analytics nerd, to conclude that a combined 67 points and three turnovers from your starting backcourt is a winning formula.

Channing Frye weighs in on Cavs

“This is gonna be a heavyweight fight these last 3 games,” Frye added.

The series’ final three games — assuming neither team wins two straight to finish off the series in six games — commence Wednesday night in Detroit. The Pistons will not only have to contend with Mitchell and Harden but also Even Mobley, who made some noise of his own during Monday’s win.

Mobley, who was rightfully criticized for grabbing just one rebound during a Game Two loss, tallied eight rebounds in Game Four, a game-high which was equaled by Detroit’s Tobias Harris. He also added 17 points and was dominant on defense, swatting five shots and tallying three steals. The performance was a not-so-gentle reminder that Mobley was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year just a season ago.

For good measure, Mobley also chipped in five assists. Per StatMuse, he’s the first Eastern Conference player with at least five assists, three steals and five blocks in a playoff game since Michael Jordan.

In Cleveland’s Game Three victory, Mobley had another two blocks and eight boards.

When an X user commented that Mobley’s defensive performance was huge, Frye acknowledged as much, responding, “Huge right! But his mental/emotional engagement has been amazing in (Cleveland’s) wins.”

One could surmise that Frye will be even more encouraged by the Cavs if they’re able to do something that’s alluded them thus far this postseason — win on the road. The Cavaliers’ six playoff wins this spring have all come at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena. Their five losses…

You guessed it.

They’ve all been away from home.

Frye and Cavs fans alike have their first chance to witness Cleveland taste playoff success away from The Land for the first time in the ‘25-26 postseason on Wednesday evening from Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.

Game Five tips at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Add us as a preferred source on Google