The Detroit Pistons held on for a road win against the Portland Trail Blazers last night, their second game in two days and the end of a four-game road trip.
It was the exactly the type of game the Pistons have to win if they want to hold onto or improve their playoff position with 17 games remaining.
Now that the Pistons are zeroing in on a playoff spot, focus has turned to some of the possible challenges they will face if they do make it to the second season.
One of them is scoring in the half court, as the Pistons have struggled in this area at times and rely on fast break points and transition to boost their scoring.
That strategy might not be as effective in the playoffs, where teams value possessions more, the game slows down and teams can fine-tune their strategies against an opponent over several games.
We know whoever the Pistons play is going to double team and trap Cade Cunningham, which has been the strategy for the past several weeks. He has been committing turnovers with more frequency over the last several games because of it, and it’s something JB Bickerstaff is going to have to figure out in the playoffs.
I’m sure we’ll also see teams target Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. defensively when they are on the court and try to drag Jalen Duren away from the hoop with bigs who can shoot.
The Pistons have weaknesses other teams are going to attack in the playoffs, but that goes both ways, as Cade Cunningham reminded us after last night’s win over Portland.
Trying to stop Cade Cunningham
There are plenty of factors necessary to win in the playoffs but one of the most important is having a guy (or two) who can get a bucket regardless of who is defending him.
The Pistons have one of those in Cade Cunningham, who is still getting his even with teams increasingly doubling and trapping him every time he touches the ball.
If you watch the games, you can see Cade solving a defense as the game wears on, and usually by the second half, he has figure out weaknesses to exploit.
After last night’s win, he was asked how the Pistons can continue to excel in the playoffs once the games slow down, and Cade’s reply was, ““I think just knowing what they do, knowing their weaknesses and how we can exploit them.”
We spend a lot of time focusing on the Pistons’ weaknesses but forget that other teams have them as well, and that Detroit has a player who will figure out how to exploit them.
Teams have really been coming at Cunningham with everything they have since the All-Star break and he’s still averaging 27 points, 8.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds in that time while shooting over 51 percent from the floor and 42 percent from long range.
It’s not a given that the Pistons are going to struggle once the games slow down, and I don’t envy the opposing coach who has to figure out how to stop Cade, who has been on a tear even though he’s been the sole focus of the other team’s defense.