Detroit Pistons: Time To Do The Unthinkable
The Detroit Pistons are down to the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0 in their first-round series. Can they pull off a feat so rarely seen? They have no choice to keep their season alive.
The Detroit Pistons have to do something against the Cleveland Cavaliers that has not been seen in NBA Playoffs history–win a series after trailing 3-0.
Oh and by the way, they have to do it against the top-seeded team in their conference.
Detroit is one of seven teams in NBA Playoffs history to have to play a Game 6 after leading 3-0 in a playoff series; that was in 2007 against the Chicago Bulls. Only three teams have forced a Game 7 with their backs against the wall. The last time it was done was by the Portland Trail Blazers against the Dallas Mavericks in 2003.
No team has ever completed a comeback after falling behind 3-0 in a series and won the series, according to NBA.com.
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The Pistons were off to a great start in Game 1 of the series. They were beating the Cavs with a hot shooting performance. They took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, only to see it slip away in a 106-101 loss. Some may have written that off as a series-clinching loss because of the difficulty for an eighth seed to beat a No. 1 seed.
In Game 2, the Pistons fell 107-90 in a game where the Pistons were outscored 52-37 in the second half. The game was competitive in the first half, but Detroit forgot to show up in the second half.
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Heading home to The Palace could have been incentive enough for the Pistons to try and regain momentum in front of a sellout crowd at home. The Pistons trailed the Cavs by one at halftime, but once again were outscored in the second half, 47-38. Cleveland is now on the cusp of clinching a first-round series sweep following the 101-91 win over the Pistons.
The Pistons have been outplayed all series long, even in Game 1 where they had a hot-shooting night. Marcus Morris has played two games where he’s had a strong first half and flopped offensively in the second half, Tobias Harris hasn’t played a complete game and the Pistons’ bench played above their abilities in Game 1 and have fallen back to Earth since.
The Pistons need to put everything together and play to their full capabilities behind their hometown crowd to win Game 4 and keep the series going.
Detroit has done a great job as a franchise of embodying what owner Tom Gores is doing within the community. They are giving back to the community off the court with different charities and volunteering at local schools. Detroit is a resilient town and this Pistons team has bought in to that attitude and what the city is about.
“Detroit means grind, muscle and leaving it all on the floor.”
The Pistons have proven they aren’t scared of the Cavs by playing fearlessly against the defending Eastern Conference champions. They are playing physical basketball in each game and going toe-to-toe with the giant. With their backs against the wall, the Pistons have the mindset to battle all the way back.
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Detroit will have to find a way to get scoring in the fourth quarter. Star center Andre Drummond won’t be on the court due to the liability he is at the free-throw line. He’s 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from the charity stripe and freezes the team’s offensive flow when the Cavs decide to foul him intentionally.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy sat Drummond for the final 6:02 in Game 3. Van Gundy was critical of Drummond’s inability to hit free throws and keep Cavs’ center Tristan Thompson, who had eight offensive rebounds in Game 3, off of the offensive glass, according to ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell.
“Unless you throw a lob, you can’t throw him the ball,” Van Gundy said. “And so you have to think about keeping him in the offensive boards, but everything’s going to have to be a tip-in.”
Rookie forward Stanley Johnson has made some bold remarks during his first NBA Playoffs experience. He’s called Cavs’ star LeBron James out a couple of times, but that’s just his “competitive nature” suggests Morris, according to The Score.
Now, he’s talking about how the Pistons “won’t lay down” because they are down 0-3 in the series, and how it’s about “respect,” according to Friedell.
Fun night. LeBron and company get the win as #Cavs best #Pistons. Fun atmosphere with some funny fans. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/s9wAAWIZdk
— Aaron Ferguson (@Sports_Aaron) April 23, 2016
If the Pistons are going to begin a comeback against the Cavs, they have to start by playing a complete, four-quarter game. They can’t afford to be outscored in the second half. There are several other areas that must improve for Detroit to come away with a win.
Backup center Aron Baynes has to answer the call in the fourth quarter and be a factor on the offensive end. With Drummond getting minimal minutes late in quarters due to his free-throw woes, Baynes must be a factor when he is on the floor and box out every possession defensively and get quality paint touches offensively.
Baynes has to be the difference maker off the bench. He played 16 minutes in Game 3 and was minus-16. While plus-minus ratings are usually a useless stat, this is rather telling that the Pistons were worse off by one point per minute that Baynes was on the floor.
Anthony Tolliver played well in nearly 10 minutes in Game 3. He only had two points on a 1-for-2 shooting night, but he was effective defensively. Johnson had another strong performance off the bench, shooting 3-for-4 from the field with nine points.
I’m confused on DET-CLE. On the one hand, “The Big 3 showed up! They’re active defensively!” On the other “Why are these games close?"
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 23, 2016
Regardless of what happens in Game 4 on Sunday night, the Pistons’ performance through the first three games have sports writers raising questions about the young team. Some are debating whether the Cavs are playing complete games on both ends of the court, and then wondering why the Pistons are playing them closely.
If there’s any doubt, the Pistons are certainly earning respect this series by playing the Cavs tough.
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The Pistons will come out ready to go Sunday night, with their backs against the wall and their fans defending their backs. In fact, the Detroit-Cleveland rivalry is heated this weekend with the Cleveland Indians in town taking on the Detroit Tigers.
Through Saturday, the Cavs and Indians have combined to sweep the Pistons and Tigers 3-0. The Indians and Cavs can complete the sweep by winning five total games in Detroit with each team playing Sunday. With the Pistons hosting the Cavs on Sunday night, they may be avoiding two Cleveland sweeps if they can force a Game 5.