After five games the cumulative score is 543-543. As Jarrett Allen said, these teams are evenly matched. But the Cavs have won three in a row and the pressure is on the Pistons as they are the only team facing elimination on Friday.
The Cavs have the momentum, confidence, and home court advantage so no excuse for screwing this up and having to win a Game 7 in Detroit. Beating the Pistons twice in one series in their building might be a bridge too far.
Kenny said after Game 4 that he thinks the Cavs have “figured some stuff out”, both offensively and defensively. It looked that way in Game 5 as the Cavs won despite Mitchell not playing well and Cade going off for 39 points. Donovan was 1-for-8 from deep. He should do much better at home.
One thing they figured out was to play Strus 36 minutes against 3 for Tyson. Mobley, Harden, and Mitchell each got 42-43 minutes and Cade 48 as both coaches realized this was the pivotal game with the winning team going on to advance 82% of the time.
What, if any, adjustments will JBB make? Jalen Duren was a -16 on Wednesday while backup centers Beef Stew (a distant relative of Meat Loaf?) and Paul Reed were +12 and +0, respectively. Somebody said that Reed played all 17 minutes of the 4th quarter and OT.
In three games against the Cavs Reed has scored an astonishing 36 points in 41 minutes, going 15-for-20 from the field. At 6’9”, and 210 pounds (listed) he’s not really a center, more like a slim power forward playing the 5. But he’s been quick enough and skilled enough to score on Allen, Mobley, and any smaller defenders he was up against.
When Reed is in the game the Cavs need to power it to the rim. Allen or Mobley needs to pin him down and get the ball in front of the rim.
Duren has scored between 8-11 points in every game, averaging 30 minutes. His minutes per game have been 35, 33, 29, 27, and 25. Meanwhile Reed’s minutes are 0, 0, 10, 14, and 17. The Cavs need to prepare for more Reed and Stew.
The Pistons have scored between 103-111 points in each of the five games, not counting overtime. They score the same home or away. JBB has got to be looking for guys who can put the ball in the bucket, and Reed fits the bill. However, the Pistons are not scoring more since he started getting minutes.
Don’t know if Duncan Robinson will be back but Daniss Jenkins scored 19 points in 41 minutes. In the first four games Robinson scored 19, 17, 15, and 4 points. He’s shooting 58% on 3’s for the series. It looks like the Cavs are working much harder to deny him open looks as he only got off 2 shots in 29 minutes in Game 4 after averaging over 10 shots the first three games. They also made him play defense constantly against Harden and Mitchell.
Kenny complained about Robinson “getting loose” after game 1 and it looks like the Cavs are respecting him a lot more. Jenkins was a -9 in Game 4.
Tobias Harris was 6-for-19 in Game 5 and I’m sure he’ll be highly motivated to turn that around. He’s another guy the Cavs may have adjusted to. He shot 50% from the field the first three games but is just 12-for-36 the last two.
The Pistons think they got robbed by the Allen no-call so they will be coming in with an attitude. This could be the most physical game of the series. Cade is shooting 47% on 3’s (after 34.2% during the season) and I expect he’ll be launching from deep so the Cavs need to be ready to show hard or switch to be in position to contest his 3’s.
The NBA ruled that all calls in the final two minutes were correct.
"Allen (CLE) and Thompson (DET) legally step to the same spot while pursuing the loose ball [before either player has possession], and both lose their balance from the marginal contact."
The Pistons were down 3-2 to Orlando and behind by 20 points in game 6 and came back to win. They aren’t going to pack it in. They’re 3-0 in elimination games. This is going to be another grind.
The crowd will be really into it, hoping to see the Cavs drive in the stake. The Pistons will be desperate, pulling out all the stops, knowing a win negates their loss in Game 5 and puts them back in the driver’s seat. Cade might play 48 minutes.
You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team. We’re not going to go down without a fight. We’re not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing clawing — that’s just who we are. - JBB
And he complains when his team gets called for more fouls.
Mitchell and Harden combined to shoot 4-for-18 on 3’s in Game 5 and the Cavs still won on the road. That’s pretty encouraging. So let's go choke the life out of them.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
none
DETROIT
Caris LeVert - QUESTIONABLE (heel)
Kevin Huerter - QUESTIONABLE (adductor)
Duncan Robinson - QUESTIONABLE (back)