Cavs Vs Pistons Preview

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons

Series odds: Cleveland +230, Detroit -270

It’s a severe contrast in styles in the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers lean heavily on their superstar LeBron James and have trouble winning when his supporting cast falters. The Pistons, on the other hand, epitomize balance with all five starters (and occasionally a bench player) taking turns in a starring role.

It’s worked for both teams so far in the playoffs, as their 8-2 straight up records attest. They each cruised through the opening round with a sweep before needing six games to topple their respective second-round opponents. The series that just wrapped up revealed flaws that could prove fatal for each.

To say Cleveland occasionally struggled offensively against the New Jersey Nets is the understatement of the postseason. They scored 90 points only once and contributed heavily to the series playing under the total five times in six chances. Game 5 was the low point, booed off their own floor after making only 24 baskets in the entire contest.

That the Cavs stole Game 6 as a 3-point road underdog was largely due to Donyell Marshall hitting six 3-pointers in only 18 minutes on the floor. That’s great if you backed Cleveland in that particular game, but the team’s inconsistency from the outside is infuriating.

In another sign of trouble, the Cavs dipped under 70 percent from the free throw line in Games 5 and 6 against the Nets, conjuring memories of their early-season woes from the stripe.

The Pistons looked like they were about to cruise to another sweep when they took a 3-0 lead against the Chicago Bulls in Round 2, then proceeded to fall asleep at the wheel. For a two-game window, the Pistons looked confused on offense and their vaunted zone defense looked ineffective against the Bulls’ hot outside shooters.

For the most part, however, Detroit has reminded bettors why the Pistons are a fixture in the Eastern Conference finals: team defense, ball movement on offense and timely shooting.

As far as matchups go, Cleveland’s big men are in for a shock after taking two rounds off defensively. Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber (if he wakes up) each have more skill in their headbands than the Washington Wizards’ and Nets’ entire frontcourts combined (with the exception of Antawn Jamison).

Then there’s James, who had a relatively quiet series against New Jersey. Detroit has an ideal matchup for James in Tayshaun Prince when they go man-to-man on defense, but James already proved to the Pistons once this season how unstoppable he can be.

He scored 41 points on 17-for-31 shooting on March 7 when the Cavs beat the Pistons in Detroit for their only win in the season series. In the other three games, James was held to 22.3 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting. That the Cavs won when James shouldered the offensive load is no coincidence.

The Pistons showed a weakness against a zone-bustingly hot team last round. Unfortunately for James, his teammates don’t fit that description nearly often enough.

Pistons win series 4-1


Raji