CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers did just enough to get past the conference-leading Detroit Pistons 113-109.
If you stop Cade Cunningham, you’ll stop the Pistons. Head coach Kenny Atkinson called defending Cunningham “the key to the game,” and understandably so.
Cunningham was effective as a playmaker with 14 assists, but was held to just 10 points on 4-16 shooting with five turnovers. This led to his team losing the minutes he was on the floor by 11.
Cleveland slowed Cunningham down without the
services of Dean Wade, which makes it even more impressive. Jaylon Tyson and Keon Ellis stepped up in this matchup. They both were effective picking up in the backcourt and were physical at the point of attack. It also helped that the rest of the defense was able to sell out to make him uncomfortable.
Cleveland never allowed Cunningham to finish over just one defender in the paint. That led to most of their success on that end.
The Cavs’ defensive strategy was clear; they were only worried about stopping Cunningham.
“It’s hard for coaches because you got to pick your poison,” Atkinson said before the game. “Do you want Cade Cunningham shooting? Or do you want X, Y, or Z shooting?”
Atkinson didn’t name names before the game, but it was clear who “X, Y, and Z” were afterward.
The Cavs weren’t concerned about players like Ausar Thompson or Tobias Harris offensively when they were on the floor with Cunningham. They were willing to cheat off them as much as possible if it meant being able to send an extra body Cunningham’s way.
And on this night, it worked. Just look at this play below. The Cavs truly didn’t care if Thompson and Harris were open on the strongside. And with the game on the line, Cunningham didn’t either.
Conversely, the Cavs’ role players are what won them the game. Dennis Schroder once again provided key scoring off the bench, Craig Porter Jr. was effective on the glass, Ellis was everywhere defensively, and Thomas Bryant filled in well for Jarrett Allen — who left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
More than that, the guy Atkinson has called “the ultimate role player,” Jaylon Tyson, lived up to the billing. He provided great defense on Cunningham on one end, and outscored him on the other as he put up 22 points on 5-12 shooting from three.
It can’t be emphasized enough how much Tyson has bought into being a role player. He has the skills and talent of an on-ball creator, but isn’t asked to do that on a team with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. And instead of trying to force it, he’s become someone who does nearly all of their damage off the ball, in support of the stars around him.
That doesn’t sound like much, but Tyson’s willingness to shift his style of play this drastically from college a few years ago is a transition that not many in his position have easily made.
Many role players now in the league have been groomed to play in a certain mold, which likely isn’t in their long-term best interest. The often talked about three-and-D shooters are an archetype that skyrocket up draft boards or are coveted in free agency, but the ones who are actually the best in that role do much more than just play defense and shoot threes. Basketball will always reward the players who can do multiple things once the ball is in their hands.
Tyson can do that. He processes the game at a high level, coming up as more of a primary scorer. He can run pick-and-rolls, attack the second side, and make quick decisions out of the short roll. Layer in becoming a lethal catch-and-shoot threat, and you have the makings of an indispensable glue guy.
The most exciting part about Tyson is that buying into this role will help him in every context he will be placed in throughout his career. You don’t want to put a limit on someone of Tyson’s skills. It’s not inconceivable that he continues to grow as a scorer and becomes a first or second option on a team down the line. But even if he does develop that way, he will still need to play off of other varied teammates. With the skillset he’s cultivated, he can easily do that.
All the while, playing this way doesn’t put a cap on who he is. The Cavs haven’t tried to put Tyson into a box. They’ve allowed him to expand his game in ways that make sense for him and the team, and he’s continually taken advantage of it.
The Cavs are a tough matchup for the Pistons, even with just one of their two star guards back in the lineup.
Harden wasn’t great by his standards on Tuesday. He provided 18 points on 5-17 shooting and turned it over five times. The lack of ball security is uncharacteristic for him. But just having someone who could command defensive attention and run the pick-and-roll besides Schroder made a huge difference.
Detroit has continually struggled to contain Cleveland’s bigs. Allen had a major effect on this game before he left with a knee injury, and Evan Mobley was once again able to get where he wanted inside. This has been a trend throughout the four games this season.
The Cavaliers aren’t a finished product. Atkinson said after the game that this wasn’t “perfect by any means,” and he’s correct. They were forced to run some weird guard lineups, given they were down two of their three starting forwards for a chunk of this game. But this is the second time in a row they’ve outplayed the Pistons in drastically different ways. And both of those games came without the Cavs’ best player, Mitchell.
The Pistons are a good team, but so far, they haven’t been able to enforce their style of play against the Cavs. They weren’t able to change the game with their offensive rebounding and creating turnovers. And Cleveland has made it difficult for their best player.
There are real concerns about whether Detroit’s style can translate to the playoffs, specifically, in a potential series with the Cavs. You don’t want to read too much into regular-season games, but at the same time, there are plenty of reasons why the Cavs should feel confident if they met in the playoffs.
I get why the anonymous Cavalier said what they did.
