Would the Pistons have a better chance against CLE or TOR?

Would the Detroit Pistons have a better chance of knocking off the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs?

Would the Detroit Pistons fair better against the Cleveland Cavaliers (52-22) or Toronto Raptors (50-24)?

If the playoffs were to start today the seventh-seed Pistons would play the second-seed Raptors in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

On the surface, playing against LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin love sounds like a match up that the Pistons would have no chance in.

But basketball is a game of match ups– and the Pistons have had much more success against the Cavaliers (Detroit is 2-1 against Cleveland this season), than the Raptors (Raptors lead series 2-1, with their only loss to the Pistons in a game where Kyle Lowry didn’t play).

Factor in that the Pistons have a legitimate advantage in the post with Andre Drummond, and that the Cavaliers have been so dysfunctional at times this season, and the thought of playing the Cavaliers becomes a little more palatable.

Another match up to consider  is on the defensive end for the Pistons.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope–the Pistons’ best wing defender– does a great job against smaller and quicker playmakers.

That means than Caldwell-Pope would stand a much better chance of guarding Kyrie Irving instead of DeMar DeRozan–though if the Pistons do end up playing the Raptors, they’d likely throw Marcus Morris on DeRozan, as that strategy has worked best in their match ups so far.

On the other hand, trying to stop playoff-mode James is a daunting task–he’s averaged 28.2 points, 6.7 assists, and 8.8 rebounds in the playoffs over his career.

No matter who the Pistons play, the figure to be heavy under dogs, but I think the Pistons would have a better shot–albeit a long shot–at beating the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers have players in James, Irving, Love, and J.R. Smith that can get hot at any minute during the game and absolutely shred a defense, but the Pistons have more of an answer against those players than they do against the Raptors.

By playing Caldwell-Pope on Irving defensively, the Pistons can play Reggie Jackson against Smith who can at least keep up with Smith.

Holding James would prove to be difficult, but Maruc Morris has done a really good job on James all season, holding him to 5-18 shooting, 12 points, and six turnovers in their last meeting.

I think Tobias Harris and Love essential cancel each other out, with both players taking the advantage offensively if Love posts up and Harris plays from the perimeter and attacks.

Where the Pistons can really take advantage is at center, where the Cavaliers would have no answer Andre Drummond.

What would have to happen for the Pistons to win the series is for Drummond to absolutely dominate on both ends, and for the Pistons to get really–emphasis on really–lucky.

Regardless of who the Pistons play, should they make the playoffs, the focus is on winning as many of the remaining games on the schedule as they can.

What’s most important for a franchise that hasn’t been in the post season in six years is that they get in.

If they do that, they can worry about the match ups later.