If it was a movie script, it's like you watched the same movie over again. Turn the ball over massively to start. Get down early. Work and work and work to dig out. Finally do enough to bring it even late. Then quickly give back everything that was worked for, and fail to execute down the stretch. One star player plays well, the other don't, and the shoot goes by the wayside once again. The Cavs look like a team that can win at times, but the Pistons are the team that are doing everything they need to do consistently to make sure they win at all times -- that is the difference right now. Mistakes and missed opportunities rued the regular season, and it's ruing the postseason so far.
By The Numbers
5: 1Q turnovers by the Cavs
6: Turnovers by the Cavs the rest of the game
9: 3Q assists by the Cavs
11: Assists in all other quarters by the Cavs
93.5: Cavs 1H oRTG
125.6: Cavs 2H oRTG
140: Pistons 4Q oRTG
7: 3PMs for the Cavs
5: 3PMs for Duncan Robinson
+9: In fast break points for the Pistons
+10: In points in the paint for the Cavs
2nd: Percentile for Cavs rim shot frequency
24th: Percentile offense in the halfcourt for the Cavs
By The Players
James Harden: Pain. Absolute pain. You thought maybe these playoffs would be different -- his first round was turnover riddled but he still managed a high level of offensive effectiveness and his defense and rebounding kept him balanced on the other end. But now, 11 turnovers over the last two games, 9-for-28 from the field and an offense that's slightly better with him on (+3.7 ORTG) but a defense that is significantly worse with him on (+18 DRTG). Harden has been inoperable offensively (credit to Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson) and is passing up shots around the rim for reasons unknown. Harden got to the paint but was 2-for-6 as finishing inside has been a struggle for Harden since coming over. It also doesn't help when he's shooting 15% on 5 3PA over his last four playoff games either. Mitchell needed Harden to take the burden off Mitchell but so far against Detroit, Harden has put the burden right back on Mitchell (and then some).
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Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell was the best player for the Cavs (finally). He came out aggressive, getting into the paint more often than he has at any time before -- he finished 9-for-13 on paint attempts and had the float game working. Where this Mitchell has been (good question), I don't know, but if the Cavs want to have a chance at a come back the continued aggression has to be there from the start and has to be sustained. He did get to the free throw line 9 times which is the most times this postseason. The dichotomy of Mitchell is he does this but still leaves you hanging. The inconsistent defensive effort is killer. And in the 4Q, when the Cavs needed to lean on someone down the stretch, he went 2-for-8 including 0-for-4 from three. All the work is for naught if you can't finish the job, and Donovan, along with his teammates, did not finish the job. Bonus: He made probably the highlight of the Cavs playoff run thus far.
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Dean Wade: For just the scond time in 9 playoff games, Wade hit more than 1 3PM (over that stretch he's scored in double digits just once). Efficient with the attempts he does take (50% FG%) but is it enough to sustain the offense in the starting lineup? Wade limited Cade to just one missed shot attempt but had three assists to zero turnovers in their direct matchups. The defense was better with him on the floor rather than off of it (-6.8 dRTG swing) but is the offense good enough (109.1 oRTG)?
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Evan Mobley: Everything you want to doubt Mobley on showed up to some extent in Game 2. The weak lost ball turnovers. The lack of rebounding -- just one rebound in 35 minutes and a 39.6% rebound rate when he was on the floor. The shooting -- he came in 7-for-12 over his last few games on 3's but exited with a 1-for-4 line including two misses in the 4Q. The overall passivity -- just 5 shots in the second half and a play level that was not consistently where it needed to be. It was a disappointing game, and a disappointing start to the series after he had built up a fair amount of momentum from Round 1. The good: His playmaking continues to be the biggest bright spot for him offensively right now.
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Jarrett Allen: Game 2 makes you wonder how much different Game 1 would have been had Allen not been in foul trouble. 22 points on 7 shots and 6 fouls drawn leading to 10 FTAs. Allen was the beneficiary of the P&R game popping it's occasional head out through the game along with the guards getting more penetration than they have in a while. Without Allen stepping up offensively, the Cavs may not have come close to 97 points let alone 87 points. Interestingly enough, the defensive rating with Allen on the floor was 125 -- untenable for an offense that had trouble being productive most of the Magic series.
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Dennis Schroder: You really wish the efficiency was there offensively because it would drive up his value offensively instead of having to rely on others finishing his plays or a once-in-awhile torrid Schroder game. The drives were impactful -- 10 of them in total in his 20 minutes off the bench which led to 4 of his 5 assists going to the bigs (Allen and Mobley). It's just the finishing (1-for-3 inside) lags behind for Schroder. The Cavs really miss the days of Ty Jerome, and even Ricky Rubio, where there would be occasional scoring bursts along with the playmaking output that would amplify the impact. Schroder has scored in double digits once in the playoffs thus far and is shooting 37.3% from the field and 25% from 3.
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Keon Ellis: A bit surprising his minutes were capped at 6 after hitting a three and seemingly being a good matchup to chase Robinson around screens. But, Kenny tightened his rotation and Ellis was a consequence of that.
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Max Strus: If only he had last games game this game. The Cavs so desperately needed spacing around the core -- just 4 3PMs were made outside of those four players. Strus went 1-for-6 and continues his somewhat yo-yo'ing peformances of a hot stretch followed by a cold stretch, and that's handicapped the Cavs at times because he's been one of the few players that has gotten hot. Despite getting the Cade matchup fairly frequently, he was only credited with one shot attempt on Strus. Where Strus got hurt was allowing Robinson to go 3-for-4 on 3PAs.
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Jaylon Tyson: 22 minutes from the aspect of how Kenny divided up the minutes seems about what you would expect but in watching the game and seeing how they were struggling offensively, you would have expected more. Look, Tyson had two airballs that makes the statement a bit ironic but the plays Tyson are making continue to be the type of plays the Cavs need. You take some of the bad plays with the good and hope that a second-year player with a good understanding of the game will learn but Tyson is probably the one role player that could swing the game the most offensively if they can get him going. Considering that, it's a bit shocking Tyson has not played a single minute these playoffs with the core.
Game Notes
- The worst part of these games is the Cavs had a chance to pull one out and couldn't do it. They've either been tied or had the lead in the 4Q of both games, despite being a -23 in the 1Q, and couldn't execute well enough down the stretch for it to matter. After scoring a field goal at 4:59 in the 4Q to bring it to a one possession game, the Cavs would go on to score just one more field goal the rest of the game.
- This is how the next several possessiosn went: three-point jump shot, step back three-point jump shot, turnaround fadeaway shot, step back three-point jump shot, turnover, three-point jump shot, step-back three-point jump shot. There were a few free throws and a field goal mixed in between there but that's the possession quality the Cavs got down the stretch. For as much as they were able to attack the basket early, and as good as they are when they're able to get inside, the Pistons defense formed a brick wall along the arc and did not let the Cavs offense enter.
- The frustrating part is Kenny has some good sets and the Cavs can get good looks when they run them so why does it go by the wayside so quickly?
- Ausar Thompson has been a menace defensively especially bothering Mitchell so it's not a surprise the game Thompson got into foul trouble is the game that Mitchell went off. Mitchell was 0-for-3 when matched up with Thompson and was 6-for-10 for 16 points when Thompsonw as off the floor. With him on the floor, Mitchell had 15 points but was 5-for-14. Getting Thompson into foul trouble has to be part of the plan but so does trying to integrate actions that gets Thompson off of and away from Mitchell.
- Whatever the Cavs do to prepare to start games, they have to stop doing it. 5 turnovers out of the gate and having to take a timeout 3 minutes in because of 3 turnovers leading to a 5-12 deficit is just unacceptable. Kenny said postgame he didn't know what it was to start games but they'll take a look at everything. He said they tried to change up coverages to get them to be more aggressive and get their mojo going. Whether or not Kenny and the team can figure out their 1Q woes probably decides if this series goes quickly or they stand a chance.
- Speaking of coverages -- why do we continually drop so deep on Cade coming of screens? Why?
- Every offensive possession for the Cavs right now feels like a slog with how hard they have to work. Every offensive possession for the Pistons feels like they can get to where they want to get to without working so hard. The Pistons found success against the Magic defense late in the series but this now back-to-back games the Pistons have had a 118 offensive rating which is above their regular season average. The Pistons may have trouble spacing it but it hasn't limited them from offensive efficiency like it has the Cavs and a lot of that has to do with how each team defends.
- Case in point: The Cavs 7-for-32 on 3's is very much a Pistons stat, not a Cavs stat. Even missing wide open shots is not an apples-to-apples comparison. There may be some positive regression coming the Cavs way but if you're slapped, bumped and physicall grinded before taking a shot is that wide open shot really a wide open shot? It's like a quarterback who misses an open pass late in the game because the pass rush has been on him game battering and bruising him and causing him to speed up his process and phycially feel the defense. It's the same thing in basketball. The Pistons defensive style wears on you and the shots that once were easy shots don't become so easy anymore.
- Teams know they can get easy looks in transition especially if they leak out. These are small plays throughout the game that add up and all get back to the same lack of urgency and attention to detail that has haunted them throughout.
- The Pistons 12 offensive rebounds felt like it was a lot more than it actually was but not putting bodies on guys when the ball goes up, what do you expect?
- There's also the continued trend of where and when the Cavs help cratering their three-point defense and it seems too late to say it's going to change at this point.
- It's the second time in as many games that it's happened, and probably more, but the Cavs don't do themselves any favors in how they handle potential point swings. Dean Wade transition 3? Eh, maybe. Not ideal but at least it's open. But then to compound the mistake, no one picks up Jenkins on the fast break and what would have been a 4-point lead, after the Cavs were working their way back, now becomes a 9-point lead and that hill you're climbing feels like sand because every step you take it's another one back.
- We said to begin the series that the Harris and Mobley matchup would be the one the Cavs have to win. The Cavs defend Cade well and the Pistons have defenders for Mitchell and Harden to make it a wash. Duren and Allen will both probably get theirs. If the Cavs stood a chance, it was them leveraging and winning the Harris and Mobley matchup. While the two don't go head-to-head on every player, that was the swing matchup for the Cavs. So far? Harris has scored 18 more points, grabbed 5 more rebounds and is a +38 plus-minus swing in about the same 70+ minutes throughout the two games. The Cavs can't be paying Mobley what they're paying him, guard invovlement or not, to get outplayed by Harris.
- Even throughout the game, you saw the Pistons going to Harris mismatch in the mid-post on the guard and letting him go to work. Those are the same type of situations the Cavs need to be able to rely on Mobley to take advantage of and it simply hasn't been there.
- It was interesting to hear Harden point to spacing and pace being the difference for the Cavs in the two halfs. The Cavs best quarter was the 3Q which their pace rating was no big variance from the other quarters but was the one quarter they hit 4 of their game total 7 3's which points to the spacing aspect. It gets back to the question: For all he does defensively, can the Cavs really live with Wade in the starting lineup offensively at this point? The starters have a oRTG of 105.9 and 90 in the first half of the last two games. That's not going to be good enough to beat the Pistons.
- All of the Cavs losses have had a similar feel but it all gets back to the same issue: The Cavs are not built to win games ugly. They need their offense to play at a certain level that sets the tone for everything else. When teams are able to grind their offense to a halt, it impacts every aspect of the Cavs effectiveness. This now makes it 0-5 when the Cavs fail to score 114 points in the playoffs. Part of it is their defense isn't good enough to pick up the slack when their offense falters but also the offense hasn't been executing at an acceptable level down the stretch to even pull out some of these gams where their offense has struggled.
Box Score & Highlights