The Cleveland Cavaliers used 12 second chance points in the first 18 minutes to build an early lead against the Detroit Pistons, and they never looked back.
You don’t want to play from behind against the Cavs. I mentioned in the game preview that the Pistons needed to avoid getting into an early hole, and they needed to keep the Cavs off the offensive glass. Unfortunately, they didn’t do either of those things tonight. The Cavs dominated the offensive glass in the first quarter, and those early second chance points, aided by some foul trouble, were essentially the difference in the game.
As far as grades go, I didn’t think the Pistons played all that bad aside from allowing the second chance points early in the game. Cleveland got into a rhythm early and used some crisp ball movement to create open shots, and when they weren’t getting open shots they were knocking down tough, contested shots. The Pistons competed hard throughout, but every time they looked like they were ready to make a run, Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love had an answer.