Detroit Pistons: 5 Takeaways From Game 1 Vs. Cavaliers
3. Trust The Second Unit
Detroit’s second unit could not have played a better game. For a group that was a weak point during the regular season and finished last in bench points per game, according to Hoopstats.com, the Pistons were a bright spot on Sunday.
They scored 21 points as a unit and were 7-for-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. Reggie Bullock and 19-year-old rookie Stanley Johnson led the bench brigade by combining to score 17 points.
Johnson was exceptional in his own merit. In addition to his nine points, he grabbed eight rebounds and played good defense. Head coach Stan Van Gundy was criticized for using a struggling Harris too much and admitted during the post-game press conference that he should have gone with the rookie, according to the Detroit News’ Rod Beard.
#Pistons SVG on questioning not using Johnson more: "That would be a fair criticism."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) April 17, 2016
The best player on the Pistons bench that may be able to match up best against Love is Anthony Tolliver, however he did not play in Game 1. He played in 72 regular season games and averaged 18.6 minutes per game. There has been no talk of Tolliver leading up to Game 2, either. As Nate Duncan points out, Tolliver could be a helpful piece to slow the Cavs down and slow Love down.
Trusting the bench was a big problem going into the playoff series, in fact everyone ranked the Cavs bench ahead of Detroit’s, and for good reason. The decision for Van Gundy to leave two starters with the bench has likely helped their play and matching up against the Cavs. If the Pistons can continue to get solid play from their bench, they will be in tightly contested games the rest of the series.
Next: 2. Starters Production Levels