Game Summary
There's just something about home. The Cavs head back to Detroit tied 2-2 after taking advantage of a historic performance... at home. The Cavs came out and hit first with a 15-5 run to start the game, but as they always do, the Pistons fought back via Caris LeVert (???) and ended the quarter with the lead. After a struggle to halftime, the real story is what happened after halftime. Despite just four points at halftime, Donovan Mitchell went out and dropped the most points in a half in Cavalier playoff history while also setting a new career playoff high. Within that, it sparked a 24-0 run that put the Cavs in the driver's seat the rest of the way.
By The Numbers
38-4: Cavs advantage to start the 1Q and 3Q
+24: Plus-minus of the Cavs starting 5 in 13 minutes
50.6%: Pistons FG%... and they still lost!
30: FTMs by the Cavs
20: Turnovers by the Pistons including 7 in the 1Q
39.8% to 23.1%: Rim shot frequency by the Pistons compared to the Cavs
25: Points created off of 11 assists by James Harden
39: Second half points by Donovan Mitchell
24: Points by Caris LeVert, the Pistons leading scorer
+7: Difference in points scored by Paul Reed compared to Jalen Duren
-27: Plus-minus by Ausar Thompson
8: Evan Mobley stocks (blocks + steals)
By The Players
James Harden: When the Cavs don't need scoring James Harden and can let him be a distributor, and take a backseat, he's at his best. 24 points but 11 assists to just 2 turnovers. However, 11 of those points came in the 1Q (on 3-for-5 from 3) which Kenny noted in his postgame press conference that the Cavs benefited from Harden coming out aggressive in looking for his own shot. Harden has really struggled from deep this postseason (5 3PM is playoff high) so when he came out hitting 3's and hustling for loose balls, you knew it may be a good game. The rebounding can improve but the passing was there all night.
-
Donovan Mitchell: He and Caris LeVert might have swapped bodies before the game and then swapped back at halftime -- it's the only explanation for things. Going from his first FGM coming around the 3-minute mark of the 2Q to 21 points in the 3Q is incredible stuff. Mitchell was playing at a different level in the second half and really all it seemed to take was a cut off Harden penetration that got Mitchell his touch that would open the levees. The playmaking stuff should, and could, happen more often when he's off which is one of the asks of Mitchell -- he has it in him, we've seen the Point Mitchell before, it just needs to happen more often. Superstars will their teams to wins and that's exactly what Mitchell did in Game 4.
-
Dean Wade: A Dean Wade stat line if you've ever seen one -- 0 points (1 FGA), 0 assists, 1 turnover, 5 rebounds but a +20. Despite all the overtures to change the starting lineup (yours truly included), Kenny stuck with it and it clearly paid off. He credited Wade's defense on Cade in his postgame comments as a big reason why the starters were able to do what they do. Cade's 19 points were the first time in his playoff history (17 games) he scored under 20 points, and Wade was a large part of that. The question always is: Can Wade do enough offensively to not clog things up and/or can the guards get off to lessen that concern?
-
Evan Mobley: Forget the scoring, truly an impressive all-around game for Mobley. 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, 3 steals and a 97.4 dRTG with him on the floor -- his fingerprints were all over this game. Kenny was asked postgame if Mobley gets enough credit as a playmaker and he said no. He would be right, and the perfect play to show Mobley's impact on both ends was in the 3Q that was in the middle of a Cavalanche. His defense was all full display all night, and there's not a lot of guys that can do all the things he does defensively and cover the ground he does. The 17 points is about average for him but he felt more forceful in some of his positions with his ability to get to the rim off catches.
-
Jarrett Allen: It's always good when the crowd chants your name. It takes continued effort over time but this series should hopefully shed the "soft" tag because Allen and Mobley have been playing anything like it. Allen finished with a modest stat line but was the beneficiary of just 6 FGAs. His involvement took a back seat to the guards but still found ways to be impactful with a +5 and 2 blocks. The key right now is figuring out how to get the best of Allen when Mobley goes to the floor. So far in 41 minutes this series, the Cavs are a -14 when that happens.
-
Dennis Schroder: A team worst -14 and 0 assists but 75% on 4 FGAs and just 1 turnover -- you take the good with the bad sometimes. During the in-game broadcast they mentioned Kenny was debating starting Schroder if they swapped out Wade which is interesting given the size and shooting predicament but think it speaks to Kenny's value in Schroder's drive game and pesky defense (especially on Cade). There has to be a way where Kenny is able to find minutes without Harden. In Game 4, Schroder with Mitchell on was a +1 (even with Harden on the floor). Without Mitchell and with Harden, he was a -15 in 11 minutes.
-
Sam Merrill: He could have brought the house down with 3's he had and the 3's he missed. The Cavs were consistently generating good looks for him and the 8 3PAs were a good indicator of that despite him putting in just 2. Merrill's adjusted well to playing off Harden's gravity and his off-ball movement can get him some good looks. His on-ball playmaking improvements this year also flashed. His 2 3PMs in the 2Q helped the Cavs wade a tricky 2Q offensively where the Pistons got it going.
-
Max Strus: If there's a Dean Wade stat line, there's also a Max Strus game -- pick up a ticky-tack backcourt foul that leads to free throws while also forcing an 8-second violation. You could also put errant pass followed by a "steal" and score (where it looked like he may miss the dunk) up there as well. The shooting wasn't quite there (just 2-7 including 1-6 on 3's) and he was part of the bench struggles with a -12 but the 4 rebounds, 2 assists and energy off the bench were felt. The defense, despite applying full court pressure on Cade, continues to be a bit of an issue with opponents eFG% being 62.2% against Strus in Game 4.
-
Jaylon Tyson: It's a bit of a predicament that Tyson is in right now. He's battling Merrill, Wade and Strus for minutes and currently losing that battle. Wade has locked in the starting role primarily due to his defense on Cade. Strus has had a few heaters in the playoffs and his energy has been something the Cavs needed. There was a potential opening with Merrill going out but he's returned and Kenny's always valued Merrill's floor raising qualities. That leaves Tyson trying to find minutes and struggling to take advantage of those minutes when he gets them -- 0-for-1 in 7 minutes and is just 9-for-26, including 3-for-14, over his last 6 games. He was the victim of Kenny tightening his rotation in the second half and didn't receive any minutes. The physicality, rebounding and on-ball playmaking can be the value but his shooting has to return for him to earn more minutes right now.
Game Notes
- The Cavs now have to do something they haven't done in over a year (May 9, 2025) and over their last 6 road playoff games -- win on the road.
- The home/away splits this postseason, and even going back to last postseason, are truly remarkable. The Cavs have always done well at home but have struggled to get over the hump on the road. Mitchell's FG% takes about a 4% dip on the road and his 3P% takes about a 5% on the road. Similar story for Mobley: 6% dip on FG% and a 14% dip in 3P%. The Cavs shooting splits this postseason echo a similar sentiment especially in three-point shooting. If they're going to advance, they're going to have to find a way to overcome those road woes.
- It wasn't 114 points but it was close. If we adjust the bar ever so slightly, we can say the Cavs are now 6-0 when they score 112 points. They did drop a game they scored 110 against Toronto (by 2) but it underscores the point -- if the Cavs can get the offense going, it usually means good things. This series has been no different as the two wins they've averaged 114 points and the two losses they've averaged 99 points. The Cavs aren't good enough defensively to win games ugly and everything flows back through their offense. So as it goes their offense on the road, so goes their success.
- What they cannot, cannot, cannot do is get too three-point happy. They're lucky they generated a lot of free-throws (a 43.6% FTr to be exact) because otherwise only making 14 3's on 41 attempts may not have worked out well. So much of when they're doing well offensively is when they're able to get paint touches. And even if that means a kick out three, it usually means they're offensive flow is much better. The 2Q is a perfect example when the 3's came from settling and not getting into the paint. Or when they ended the 3Q getting three-point happy, and saw the Pistons slowly climbing back in, only for them to get to the paint to extend the lead to start the 4Q.
- I really liked Harden's answer on pace. Pace is not just quick shots but it's getting into actions with more urgency and moving at a better speed. Kenny also talked postgame about the difference in the second half being they played with more pace. This has been something talked about time and time again during this postseason. If the Cavs end up in isolation, fine. But don't let it be because you choose to burn the clock and only set one ball screen to do it. Get through your looks quicker, and with more actions, and the rest will take care of itself. As the Cavs head to Detroit, look for them to continue to leverage getting quicker looks to avoid the set Pistons defense. There's a reason they were the 2nd best halfcourt defense in the regular season.
- The offense is beautiful when they run it like we know how they can.
- The Pistons are going to win the paint points battle, that's just who they are. They had 15 restricted area FGAs in the second half and 18 in the first half. But when the Cavs had 5 restricted area FGAs in the first half compared to 11 restricted area FGAs in the second half, it's noticeable offensively and more of what they need to offset the Pistons paint battle.
- There's been a lot of arrows at Kenny (and rightfully so in cases) but his adjustment on Cade over the last two games has worked and should be something they carry over to Detroit. Allen talked about "speeding" him up, and as a result, they've forced 13 turnovers by Cade over the last two games. He did have 9 in Game 1 + 2 but their coverage has ony gotten more aggressive and it's only gotten Cade more out of sorts. Cade is too good for the Cavs to sit in drop and let him attack them so they've flipped the script and went and attacked Cade.
- The Tobias Harris regression finally hit. After going 6-for-9 for 14 points in the first half, he went equally as cold going 0-for-8 with just 2 points. Part of it was Ausar Thompson's issues that had the unintended consequence of Mobley guarding Harris more and that being a tougher matchup. He also missed some open shots (finally) but going from Harden to Mobley as your matchup is about as night and day as it gets.
- It will be interesting to see how JB handles the Thompson dilemma. He's been battling foul trouble the last few years and when he's been off the court is when Mitchell and Harden have started to go off. The other issue is when he's on the court, they struggle to score. It was a 75 oRTG in Game 4 and they have a -7.5 oRTG swing with him on the floor offensively in Round 2 alone. It's the same issue the Cavs have with Wade: His defense is so good you want him on the floor but his offense is so bad it makes it hard at times to keep it there. We'll see how JB adjusts to get Ausar more involved offensively where the Cavs can't just completely ignore him and it makes it a 4 v 5 game. Perhaps looking to how Atlanta deployed Dyson Daniels as a screener, cutter and asking him to crash the glass will up Thompson's value.
- The Caris LeVert wheel is a real thing and we witnessed it in real time. After subbing in for Ausar, as he went out in the 1Q, he immediately flipped the game on its head and was a jolt the Pistons needed offensively. It looked for a minute we might be in for a redux of the Boston performance where he scored 41 points in an OT win in Boston. But, as things do with LeVert, they evened out and he came back down to Earth. However, it is an interesting dichotomy for JB: LeVert hasn't been too impactful all series but his offensive value helped Cade and helped the team immensely. How much does he lean on LeVert moving forward?
- The question also extends to bball Paul -- Paul Reed. In back-to-back games now, Reed has come in and provided an immediate jolt. So much so, Reed has scord 7 more points than Duren in 32 less minutes over the last two games. Reed is more active and a better finisher, especially off P&R, and it's given the Pistons a look that Duren has struggled to provide and is not really in Isaiah Stewart's game. I would expect JB to turn to Reed earlier and more often given the production he's rewarded his coach with. The Cavs adjustment to not go small and stick with Wade and Mobley in the 4Q to avoid the Pistons getting Reed switched onto a small, really paid dividends and could be a counter we see Kenny stick with.
- Still room for improvement from the Cavs: FINISH POSSESSIONS. PLEASE. Rebounding is a team stat and too often gets pushed onto bigs because they spend most their time around the hoop. But so much of this series so far as been the bigs doing their job, either in defending the rim or occupying their counterpart, and the ball has fallen to a Piston bystander because the Cavs perimeter players are either watching or not doing their job. The Cavs mitigated the damage somewhat by crashing the glass on their own accord offensively, but the Cavs have to be more intentional about finishing possessions. They can't think other will grab the ball and have to find a body once the shot goes up. The Pistons struggle offensively and win on the margins -- free throws, second chances, turnovers. Clean those things up and you give yourself a chance.
- Ending on a good note: Enjoy the Cavs 24-0 run.
Box Score & Highlights
Last edited: