Just like in the 1st round against the Orlando Magic, the Pistons have reached the point of win or go home as they face elimination against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland. If there is one positive for the Pistons it is that they only have to win two games in a row to steal the series rather than the three they had to against Orlando.
Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland came with a bit of controversy as what many thought was a missed foul on Ausar Thompson at the end of the game kept the game tied
before the Pistons lost in Overtime. The Last Two Minute Report by the NBA has since disproven the controversy by confirming the correct call was made, but it has still led to a ton of discourse.
The bottom line about Game 5 is that the Pistons put themselves in a position to win multiple times during the game and couldn’t seal the deal. You can complain about the foul and free throw discrepancy, and those are valid things, but the Pistons blew a 15-point lead in the 1st half and also a 9-point lead with two minutes left.
Now, they have to go to Cleveland with their season on the line where the Cavaliers have not lost a game during the postseason so far.
Vitals
Where: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH
When: Friday, May 15 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Prime Video
Odds: Cavaliers (-3.5)
Analysis
The big takeaway from the last three games amongst Pistons fans is the foul discrepancy and how many more free throws the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken. In Cleveland’s three straight wins, they have shot a total of 100 free throws while the Pistons have only shot 52. I don’t think I really need to say much more about it here that hasn’t already been talked about to death online.
The biggest reason why the Cavaliers have taken control of the series is because their stars have stepped up while the Pistons have gotten very minimal contributions out of anybody but Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris. It reached a breaking point in Game 5 as Jalen Duren was benched for the whole 4th quarter and overtime in favor of Paul Reed, who is one of the few bright spots outside of Cunningham and Harris.
In Games 1 and 2, the Pistons were able to successfully hold James Harden in check to the point where despite 23 and 31 point games by Donovan Mitchell, they were still able to come out on top. Since those first two games, Donovan Mitchell has kicked it up to another level and James Harden has gotten things rolling. It has scrambled the Pistons defense as they have to sell out more to stop both player’s dribble penetration and it has allowed the Cavaliers to get players like Evan Mobley, Max Strus, and Jarrett Allen rolling with easy looks.
You can say it is due to an uneven whistle, but the bottom line is that unless the Pistons make adjustments to how they are defending Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, this series will be ending tonight.
The Pistons have done a bad job defending the three point line as the Cavaliers have gotten quite a few open threes after long possessions because the Pistons lose focus or rotate off somebody too much. The Cavs are too good of a shooting team to consistently allow that to happen.
The Cavaliers have successfully matched the Pistons physicality on defense and are able to bring doubles on Cade to force other players to beat them. That did not happen on Wednesday down the stretch. All the Pistons had to do was make one of the wide-open shots that Cade generated off of a pass out of a double and the controversial call doesn’t matter and we are discussing the Pistons closing out a series tonight.
You can blame the refs all you want, but the bottom line is despite the foul and free throw discrepancy, the Pistons have held leads in 2 of the last 3 games in the 4th quarter and could not seal the deal in either one. Young teams have to learn how to win in the playoffs and the Pistons were able to get the job done against the Orlando Magic, but the Cavaliers are an older, more experienced team with a ton of players that have played a lot of playoff games.
They know how to game the system whether you like it or not. And those plays around the margins can make all the difference in winning or losing a playoff series.
The Pistons are not dead in the water. But, if they want any hope at winning this game and returning home for Game 7, their execution down the stretch has to be much better. The amount of free throws each team have shot won’t matter if you execute your offense and do a better job at defending and creating turnovers. The Cavaliers are prone to doing it as they proved in Games 1 and 2.
JB Bickerstaff and the players can discuss the uneven whistle all that they want, but it is clear at this point that the team that led the league in fouls during the regular season is going to foul a lot. The Cavs know it and have put together a gameplan that focuses on it. Now, the Pistons have to put together a gameplan of their own to counteract it.
Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2): James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Detroit Pistons (2-3): Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Question of the Day
Do the Pistons get it done and force another Game 7?
