NBA Matchups: May 11

DET @ CLE | OKC @ LAL

Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Pistons 105, Cavs 108.5

Injury Report: Kevin Huerter (Q, groin), Caris LeVert (Q, heel)

Cavs projected starters: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Pistons projected starters: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Offensive Ranks: Cavs 8th (6th halfcourt), Pistons 10th (16th halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: Cavs 15th (15th halfcourt), Pistons 2nd (2nd halfcourt)

Atkinson quotes: Said they needed Harden to play well while they were searching for stuff, said he wishes their defense was better, said they knew the Pistons were going to make a run, said they needed another handler out there and that’s why Schroder played more, said Merrill wasn’t 100% and gutted it out, said they have to get the bigs the ball more and they have to shift it to more inside scoring, said “we have to shift our offensive mentality” to score more inside, said they have to be better on the ball with defense on Cade, said he can push up the minutes on the main guys with the longer TV timeouts.

Bicketstaff quotes: Said they got good looks and couldn’t get them to fall, said they were too bad with their turnovers, said they wanted Paul Reed there to boost some energy, said the Cavs were attacking switches more in Game 3, said they were good at attacking the boards, said they’ll go back to Duren more after going to more Reed in the last one.

Stats and notes:

*The Pistons finally were held in check on offense for their worst halfcourt O rating since Game 5 of the first round. They also had their worst transition output with the Cavs taking better care of the ball at just 15 turnovers. Detroit has been pretty steady on the offensive boards this series, and that’s been an issue for the Cavs over the last month. On the other side, Cleveland was excellent in the halfcourt at 113.5 points per 100, their best output since Game 2 of the first round. They’re not playing fast at all, and they keep losing the points-in-the-paint battle (60-54 in Game 3). Kenny Atkinson said they want to attack the basket, and I’d expect them to do so out of the gate.

*The Cavs have been pretty solid with containing Cade Cunningham, as he posted a 27/10/10 line in 39 minutes in Game 3. Cade had his highest usage rate in a game on Saturday, and he drove it a whopping 26 times. The Cavs will continue to help off him a bit, but the role is just too massive. Expect a big line from Cade.

*Jalen Duren had another lackluster outing at just 11/4/1. He lost some minutes to Paul Reed. Duren just hasn’t been able to establish himself as a roll man, and it’s been a major disappointment throughout these playoffs. With Atkinson vowing to play bigger, it’s not setting up great for Duren.

*Tobias Harris has scored 20+ points in eight straight games, and J.B. Bickerstaff just has to play him a ton. He hasn’t scored on the fast break in the last two, and he’s been mostly off-ball for his scoring, with 71.4% of his makes coming off an assist. Tobias did see more Evan Mobley, making it a tougher matchup, but there’s no denying that he has some serious upside.