How will rest of Pistons-Cavs series play out?
Numbers on the Board reacts to the Cavaliers winning game four behind Donovan Mitchell's huge night and how the series will play out now that it's tied 2-2.
Video Transcript
Out east, we got a 2-2 series after Cleveland protects home court, 112 to 103, behind a Donovan Mitchell second half that you may never see again.
About what, 39 points in the third half or second half?
No, he got it again next game.
That's Don Don.
They had to put him back in the game.
Which is so embarrassing.
They did, which is so crazy.
So embarrassing.
I, I, I, I don't know the last I ever seen anything like that.
So embar- Not just him, the starters.
Yes.
Yeah, everybody had to go back in.
'Cause it happened so fast, too.
Yeah.
It just went to a 10-point game and you seen Kenny Atkinson- Marcus Sasha had seven points in two minutes just put everybody back.
But how we feeling about this series, man?
It's been one of them wishy-washy the first two games.
Detroit take care of business so much that you feel like it was gonna be over, but then we know that the Cavs are such a good home team, and they went to- Yeah who do y'all feel like is gonna win this best of three now?
I think there was a couple bright si- like, a, a lot of bright things that the Cavs could take away from that last game.
I know it's been a really, just two different sides from home and away, but Donovan Mitchell was really able to get going in that last one.
And he said going into halftime that a lot of it was on him.
He just wasn't being aggressive, he wasn't doing the things he needed to do, and in that second half he just took control.
they also like the, the three guard lineup they were kinda doing.
Yeah, Schrder.
Where Schrder, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, where it just gives them a chance where it's always somebody to make a, a, a really good play for them, and you're not gonna have any offensive, like, halts.
So I think there's a lot of bright things to look at, but they just been a different team on the road.
Man, yeah, it was tough in the first two games because the, the Detroit Pistons really just kinda mucked it up and played their brand of basketball, and the Cavaliers just didn't respond well.
And I figured they would go home and do this, but I, I do love what they did in the last game, not down the stretch.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
excluding that.
And I feel like they have momentum.
I feel like that, that was a statement game for I feel like that's the, the Donovan Mitchell performance we've been waiting for all playoffs.
I think a lot of us anticipated that against the Raptors to close out that series, but we got it now.
and I just think that that, that, that goes a long way for them.
and even in the games that Detroit won, it felt like, I think we talked about it a lot, of them kinda keeping the door open for the, the Cavs- and the Cavs just not being able to capitalize.
So I think you take some of that and bring it to here in, in game five, and they could, they could steal one.
They could steal one.
I am concerned a little bit with the, with the bigs.
Jarrett Allen had one of those kinda floating games.
I think- I thought Mobley was dominant, though.
He was, he was, in stretches.
'cause he had a, he had a couple of quarters where I was like, "Thank you, Evan Mobley."
I don't, and I can't remember if it was, one of the quarters.
I'm like, "Where are you at?"
I can't remember if it was the opening quarter or what.
Or maybe that was Donovan Mitchell, 'cause Donovan Mitchell started off, like, 0 for 5.
Yeah, he did.
Yeah, he couldn't, couldn't- He couldn't throw a rock in the ocean anything.
and then on the Detroit side- To get a Caris LeVert 24-point game- And they lose and they can't capitalize on it- Ah, that's tough ah, that's tough.
Well, you also got a great Paul Reid game as well- Yes if you think about it.
Yes.
But his- They say he matched Jalen Duren's playoff high.
Yeah.
Jalen Duren's only scored 15 points once this postseason.
Wow.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Paul Reid did that in 14 minutes that time.
And now, now you gotta go into the next game and think that maybe Paul Reid demands more minutes.
Not that he's gonna take Jalen Duren's starting spot or nothing, but- For sure, for sure he's probably gonna take some of those minutes from Beef Stu.
Yeah.
Just 'cause offensively I just think- Wow he gives you a little bit more.
They said, the strategy that- And I'm not mad at you they like is if they're up in a game, they want the defense with Beef Stu, but if they're down, they like the offense from Paul Reid.
I see why.
Yeah, I can see that.
Not to- Yeah, they said that during the game not to break this conversation, but big roster move update just happened.
if y'all didn't know, Alex Thomas got DFA'd from the Diamondbacks.
The, the White Sox or the Cubs, or- He joined the bad guys, man.
The Tigers?
What bad guys?
He's going to the Dodgers.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
I like the Dodgers.
They're the bad guys of the league.
Hell yeah.
Are you kidding me?
My favorite National League team since I was a kid.
I- is he serious?
Hey, shout out to him.
Shout out to him.
He said he'll get you a jersey, though, right?
He comes up No, I'm literally not You not gonna get you a jersey?
I'm not I would not rock a Dodger jersey.
That's family.
Oh, you out your mind.
My brother could play for the Dodgers and I'm getting his high school jersey over a Dodgers jersey.
You, you wrong.
That's crazy.
That's crazy.
Can't do it.
Anyways.
Mm-hmm.
I don't mind that dude.
Wishing him the best.
Wishing him the best, obviously.
Paul Reid's be- quarter, though, unfortunately came at a time where I think the starting lineup for the Pistons, was that the third quarter?
Yeah, that's when they was on like- Only scored three points a 19-0 run Yeah, they went on that 20- Paul Reid no, it was 21-0.
21-0 run?
I think Duncan- And then Paul Reid kinda just brought them back a little bit.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Duncan Robinson was the only starter that scored that quarter.
That's the quarter where, I think Duren only played a few minutes.
Ausar Thompson, two early fouls in the first quarter.
Yeah.
It's- As, as good as he is, man it got to the point to where that he just had to play Caris LeVert over him.
Like- Yeah, and that's the thing.
If you watch this series, the, the quarters that the Cavs be winning or having those type of quarters, he ain't playing because he's in foul trouble.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And so I, like, I Yeah, I don't know.
And I can't figure out if it's just, like, his aggression being over the top or he has a bad whistle.
You know, like, I, sometimes I watch him like, man, I be seeing so-and-so player on another team do that exact thing and don't get that many- Oh, like this one on the Thunder?
Y- yeah, Lou Dork.
Yeah, Lou Dork does that exact thing 12 times a game- and he ain't in this much foul trouble.
I think the Thunder just got a, the sexiest whistler in the league.
'Cause I remember watching last year against the, the Knicks and the Pistons, and I was like, man, like, the Pistons good, but yeah, they do too much.
They, they hack a lot.
and people be like, "Oh," but no, they, they be fouling.
They be going a little bit overboard.
But it, it is hurting them.
It is hurting them.
And I think sometimes JB can't trust him to not pick up the third.
Yeah.
but yeah, it's no coincidence that since game one, when the Cavaliers have these big quarters or whatnot, Ausar Thompson usually, those are the quarters where he plays two or three minutes because he picked up some fouls.
It's gotta be frustrating as a coach to see Duren struggling this bad, to the point to where, like, he does a pick and roll with Kade, and Kade hesitates on a shot, tries to dump it off to himAnd then Durant is just not even aware that he's wide open at the rim.
Damn.
Like that, I'm not even, I'm not even a, a player or a coach, and I'm like, "Durant, what?"
Like I'm, I'm mad.
Yeah, you text, you text the group chat.
I'm mad that that even happened.
Yeah.
And I'm not even like on the court or on the in- involved with the team.
Yeah, his struggles in the postseason have been real.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, that's part of the reason why they just kinda been hanging in some of these games.
They have been winning and closing 'em out, but it's been really tight.
Like, it's been close, and they need to This is a team that needs every point that they can get, and what, what was, what did he average in the regular season?
Like, maybe 19, 18?
Mm-hmm.
Something around that.
18, yeah.
Something around like 10.
Mm-hmm.
That's a big point drop-off from a guy that was one of your leading scorers.
Yeah.
Not, not saying that obviously the Cavs front court on any given night can be all defensive.
But if, now that we have two series of this, it's starting to really turn.
Like, first round you're like, "Okay, Orlando Magic has such a good game plan against me and Cade Cunningham, no big deal."
But now we get four games into the next series and we still ain't had one, one nor- just a normal Jalen Duren game.
Yeah.
We don't Not a 30-point game, not a 27, just your averages.
That ain't happened once.
It definitely changes the perspective of like what the core is ultimately going into the off-season, especially if they somehow end up losing the series.
I, I think you, you're not one of them people that let him walk, but it's like, maybe him as our number two is just not something we should really count on too much.
'cause we do get a lot of Tobias Harris still- But then somebody- which is cool and fun, but man throw an astronaut He went 0 of 8 in the second half, Tobias Harris.
Damn.
If I- That was part of that, those terrible quarters that they had, basically.
Yeah.
If some- but if somebody like the Lakers threw him a bag, you have to match it if you're Detroit.
Yeah, I think you do.
That's the unfortunate part.
I think you s- somehow try to walk out of there with something.
the Lakers won't have anything, you know, like a little sign-and-trade.
But like there's some other teams with a lot of money.
The Bulls.
The Bulls could just do some shit just 'cause they got the m- No, no, no, we can't.
We're just gonna draft a guy at 15.
No, which is fine, but when you have that much money, you just do shit and you put- Yeah the other team in a position to have to match it.
And they in the same division.
Same division, yeah.
You just- Even though that don't, that's never really mattered in the NBA.
Let's make that matter again.
Let's make it matter again.
Let's- If you're the Knicks- Let's have an off-season that everybody if you're the Knicks, would you rather play the Pistons or the Cavs?
Um- That's a really good question.
Really, right?
The Pistons- The- took care of business against y'all all regular season long.
I would go- I don't think y'all won a single game I would s- I would say the Cavs.
I could, I could see a world where the lights could be too bright sometimes for the Cavs.
I felt that way, but the Donovan Mitchell game reminds me of why you kinda wanna stay the hell away from them.
And they have that Evan Mobley ca- kid.
Yeah.
I don't know if you remember him.
I mean, you realist- I mean, you got the same problem on the other hand.
You still gotta deal with Cade.
The Pistons ain't playing how they played in the regular season.
Yeah.
No, no, but I'm just saying like- They haven't Cade can do the same thing that Donovan Mitchell does.
The Cavs have just been so shaky.
Shaky.
Cade is a really good player and he's been the best player in the series.
Are we assuming OG Anunoby's back?
39 and a half?
Yeah.
Yeah, he was doing absurd shit.
He scored more than half the team points.
And that ain't the first time we've ever said that.
Cade can definitely do his thing.
Yeah.
But I'm just saying Donovan Mitchell has some shit where it's like we've seen some of the best scoring performances.
That always scare me, 'cause you know he got that in his back pocket, whether he's gonna use it or not.
'Cause in the Raptors series he ain't really- He ain't use it at all.
Yeah.
But that last night reminded me of like, that's just a pain in the ass to have to deal with.
And I think Cade is a little bit more easier to contain, which is easier said than done.
If Duren is playing like this and you got OG Anunoby back, you may want Pistons.
Yeah.
But the Cavs just aren't good either, though.
You know what I mean?
No shit.
But they can just flip a switch sometimes that y- I mean, I mean, that's why it makes it so tough.
Yeah, yeah.
Because both teams have kinda showed some- I think y'all walk in as a favorite against both opponents, though.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh.
And it shouts it out for extending the series, 'cause that just allows OG to get more healthy and healthy, so hopefully this thing goes seven.
Hopefully it does go seven.
'cause yeah, more basketball, never a bad th-
