The shorthanded Cavaliers were able to beat the Detroit Pistons in Cleveland, which has already caused a wave of panic among fans who think this is a sign Detroit isn’t good enough.
Let’s pump the brakes a bit.
The two teams split their meetings this season, so it’s not like the Cavs handily beat the Pistons. I get the concern, as the Cavaliers are a good team that seems to be getting stronger, but they are not the only team the Pistons have to face.
The Cavs are a unique problem for the Pistons
The Cavs outshot the Pistons from 3-point range, which is not unusual, and not necessarily indicative of who will win the game. The Pistons have shot the ball terribly of late and still won most of their games.
The difference is that the Cavs were able to stop the Pistons from pummeling them in points in the paint, which not many teams can do.
Detroit outscores their opponents by 15 points in the paint on average but only enjoyed an eight-point advantage last night. The Pistons scored just 48 points in the paint, which is 10 below their average, so the Cavs did a good job of limiting the Pistons’ biggest strength.
Few other teams in the NBA have shown this ability, so while I get the panic over the Cavs, it’s a bit overblown, as they are better defensively than most teams in the Eastern Conference, particularly when it comes to protecting the rim.
You may have noticed that the Pistons’ two recent losses (in a brutal stretch) were to two teams with elite rim protectors.
All things being the same, the Pistons win this game easily if Cade Cunningham just knocks down his normal number of shots, so losing to the Cavs on the road is not a doomsday scenario, even if they were missing Donovan Mitchell.
They won’t have to play the Cavs and Spurs every night, and we could see a big run in the home stretch as the schedule lightens up.
But what about the playoffs?
Most of the panic revolves around the fact that the Pistons and Cavs could easily meet in the playoffs if the current seeds hold, and they both win their first-round series.
Something could come along to disrupt that narrative, so it’s hardly written in stone. The Cavs might catch the Knicks, might lose to the five seed, the Pistons could get bounced in the first round, who knows?
The Cavs definitely aren’t afraid of the Pistons, but Detroit’s not scared of them either and would still have some advantages in a playoff series to exploit, including home court.
The Cavs are uniquely suited to give the Pistons problems, but losing to them in the regular season isn’t the end of the world, nor a sign that the East has figured Detroit out.
Let’s keep in mind that the Cavs haven’t made a deep playoff run recently either.
The pressure will be on them to make it out of the second round, not the Pistons, who are not in “win now” mode like Cleveland is.
I get the concern, but it’s not time to panic, even if the Cavs do look like the Pistons’ kryptonite.