There is nothing better than playoff basketball. Yeah, the NBA regular season has taken a public relations hit in recent years, but when the snow thaws and the postseason begins, there’s still no drama quite like it.
The storylines. The overreactions. A narrative can totally change in a matter of 48 hours. Legacies can shift on a dime.
The Detroit Pistons were a quarter and a half away from being dubbed frauds, chokers. You name it. J.B. Bickerstaff may have heard the “can’t get it done in the playoffs”
chatter get louder. Cade Cunningham would have moved from your favorite player’s favorite player to the “are we sure he can carry a team all the way?” narrative.
Then, in the pressure cooker of it all, the Pistons looked themselves in the mirror and figured things out, staving off a pesky Orlando Magic team. A beautiful thing that is a microcosm of all that is right about postseason hoops. Fast forward a week, and the momentum has carried over to the second round, where the Pistons have won two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers in workmanlike fashion, seizing control of the series in the process. Here are a few thoughts about what we’ve witnessed so far.
Tobias Harris. That’s The Tweet.
Speaking of a narrative-changing, look no further than Detroit’s elder statesman, Harris, who developed a reputation in Philadelphia for producing playoff no-shows. Less than two years ago, he recorded a zero point performance in a potential closeout game against the New York Knicks. He was practically run out of town shortly after. Yet, in just a couple of weeks, he has rewritten history and completely overhauled his reputation.
There were questions all year long about who the Pistons would turn to as a second option outside of Cunningham. And for the first half of the Orlando series, those questions remained unanswered. But then something happened along the way. Harris, who hadn’t scored 20 points in consecutive games all season, proceeded to do so in seven straight games, including three must-win games against the Magic.
His post-ups have become one of Detroit’s most efficient and reliable plays. Furthermore, he has endeared himself to Pistons fans and has stated his case as one of the great Motor City playoff performers. Not too long ago, he was getting booed out of Philly. Now, the Little Caesars Arena crowd buzzes with anticipation each time the 33-year-old receives an entry pass in the short corner. This is the beauty of the playoffs, where years of mental, and emotional turmoil and scrutiny can be shed with signature moments on the biggest stage.
Many people groaned when Harris re-signed with the organization two years ago. Since then, he has become one of its most important figures, and by all accounts has been instrumental in the culture shift that has occurred over the last two years. Now, the icing on the cake is him emerging as a real second option at the perfect time on the sport’s biggest stage. It has been a redemption story for the ages, as Detroit as it gets.
Give Unc his flowers; he’s earned them.
Physicality On Display
There is no doubting how much Orlando prepared the Pistons for this moment. The players and coaching staff have candidly acknowledged as much. The Magic series was full of sloppy turnovers, offensive rebounds, and loose balls being won by Orlando. They proved to be the perfect primer for facing the Cavs to this point, as Detroit has flat-out owned the boards and “50-50 balls” through two games.
The Pistons have won the total rebounding battle, but equally importantly, have bested the Cavs in offensive boards in both matchups. Early against the Magic, that was far from the case. Wendell Carter, Paolo Banchero, and co. gave the Pistons all they could handle in the paint, forced them to look in the mirror, and double-downed on their culture of toughness that led to 60 wins this past season.
While you can make the case that Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are more skilled than Orlando’s frontline, it is a different kind of skill, and they clearly pack less brute strength. Time after time through two games, Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah Stewart have gotten second-chance opportunities that just weren’t consistently there a series ago.
This has extended to the perimeter as well. Daniss Jenkins looked like a deer in the headlights through the first four Orlando games. Duncan Robinson reminded fans of Malik Beasley’s no-show against the Knicks last year. They got next to nothing on the perimeter outside of Cunningham. Certainly, some of this could have been attributed to rust or first-round jitters. But there’s no doubt that going against elite perimeter defenders like Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Anthony Black has made it easier to go against the Cavs wing defense. Cunningham, Jenkins, Thompson, and even Robinson and Caris LeVert have practically gotten into the paint at will through the first two games. The spacing and movement have been crisp, and the team has even figured out how to leverage the opponent’s choice to ignore Thompson to their advantage.
Have The Pistons Found Their Closing Lineup?
Against the Magic, it was clear that Bickerstaff was trying to figure out who would remain on the floor with Cunningham, Harris, and Duren in crunch time. It took a fair amount of juggling. But as the playoffs have rolled on, Thompson’s defense has usually warranted him being out there in addition to the aforementioned three. With Robinson being hunted defensively far too often against the Magic, everyone from Caris LeVert to Daniss Jenkins to Javonte Green got their shot at being the final piece of the puzzle.
But it’s become clear through the last four games that Jenkins has cemented himself as that guy. He’s offered spacing next to Cunningham, combined with secondary playmaking, scoring, and pesky defense. This has given the Pistons their best possible shooting lineup without overly sacrificing shooting or defense. Jenkins has been trustworthy with the ball in some tight spots, and not to mention, has been a clutch free-throw shooter. He is good enough defensively and has shot it well enough that the team could have the opportunity to go offense/defense with Thompson and Robinson when applicable as the playoffs go on.
What other observations stand out to you so far?
