Will any team in the East stop the Knicks?
The New York Knicks are gaining momentum in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but do any teams still have what it takes to keep them out of the NBA Finals?
The final four teams in the NBA have been revealed.
On Sunday, May 17, the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the top-seeded Detroit Pistons 125-94 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, setting up a showdown with the third-place New York Knicks in the conference finals.
After Sunday night’s tipoff in Detroit, it was clear the Cavaliers had bounced back from the disappointment of Game 6. Cleveland played with more force and purpose, relentlessly attacking the paint and outscoring the Pistons on the glass.
The Cavaliers had four players with at least 21 points each: Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill and Evan Mobley.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s Eastern Conference semifinal game 7 between the Cavaliers and the Pistons.
Congratulations, Cleveland. Now you will encounter the buzzsaw that is Knicks.
This is something Cleveland will need to continue producing performances like this to have any chance of playing New York, the hottest team in the East so far, in the postseason.
The Cavaliers were much more aggressive from the jump and won in nearly every hustle metric.
Still, Cleveland’s game still had flaws. James Harden scored just six points in the first half and finished the game with just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting. At times, he seemed more focused on drawing fouls than getting clean looks. Perimeter shooting was inconsistent. Outside of Sam Merrill’s 5-of-8 shooting, the rest of the Cavaliers were just 6-of-26 (23.1%) from deep.
The Knicks will be fresh and rested and will have home court advantage. They are the most cohesive and most consistent team in the East. Cleveland did a much better job of protecting the ball, committing only 11 turnovers, but the Knicks were much better than Detroit. The Cavaliers will need to be more efficient.
Cavaliers manager Kenny Atkinson said after the game, “They’re resting and they’re the strongest right now.” “That’s exactly what it is.”
Just 48 hours after the season was extended, the Cavaliers will once again be playing in a frenzy of crisis. The first two series were seven games, so Cleveland will need to be intentional about sleep, rest and recovery.
For context, Cleveland has played a total of 14 games since April 18, when the playoffs began.
The Cavs have played nine games since May 1st.
By comparison, the Knicks have played just 10 games since April 18th and just four games since May 4th.
Simply put, the Pistons can’t win if they shoot this poorly. That wasn’t their biggest problem either.
Dating back to last season, this Detroit team lacked reliable and consistent shooting, making it difficult to sustain the offense. Things have also become difficult for Cade Cunningham, who has often had to play the role of savior.
Detroit’s stars combined for just 14-of-48 field goals (29.2%) and contributed just 47 total points. For comparison, Cleveland’s starting five gave up a combined 88 points.
Somehow, Detroit’s defense was even worse.
Detroit suffered a rare injury and struggled to communicate on the switch, allowing players to run unhindered to the rim. Author Thompson was effective as usual, with some solid individual efforts, but the effort and tenacity on Detroit’s defense was just not there.
They were a step slow, a step slow, and that sluggishness carried over into other parts of the game. After a great regular season, a loss like this exposes serious limitations and shows that this team is still far from being a legitimate contender in the conference.
In January 2023, Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 71 points. This game could have been better.
Mitchell erased the narrative that he couldn’t lead a team to the conference finals with a complete game that showed how dangerous he was.
Mitchell used his gravity to further draw the defense’s attention, sometimes moving into the paint like a decoy to find a vacant teammate. With these open looks, many of them dumped off to Cleveland’s big teams, which Cleveland converted into easier buckets. But it also opened up the Cavaliers’ entire offensive rhythm. In the first half, Cleveland made 22 field goals and had 18 assists, six of which came from Mitchell.
Mitchell finished the game with 26 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, all game highs. He set the tone and was easily the best player on the floor Friday night.
“He was better than Donovan Mitchell, but is that possible?” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters after the game. “It started with him. His defense, his rebounding, when he started getting in the paint and making other guys better, dishing off to our big men. That was the key to the game. He was in complete control of the game.”
Cade Cunningham, the heart of Detroit’s operations, easily handled his worst game of the series, scoring just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and adding five assists and four rebounds. He just looked like a exhausted player.
The Cavaliers made Cunningham work on every basket, every drive, and waited until late in the game to double-team him. This seems to be by design. With Detroit relying on Cunningham to create his own shots, create looks for his teammates, and contribute on defense, Cleveland’s continued efforts to drain Cunningham’s energy wore him down.
Cunningham’s usage rate (32.1%) was third among playoff players entering Sunday night behind Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown, both tied at 32.5%.
The Pistons fell behind 3-1 in the first round, needing seven games to defeat the No. 8 Magic. In this series, they fell into a hole with 3 wins and 2 losses. Cunningham is an elite player with great talent. But this pace is unsustainable.
Game 7 Jarrett Allen appears
In the final game of the first round of the playoffs, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen was a threat against the Raptors, dropping 22 points and 19 rebounds.
On Friday night, Allen had another great performance in Game 7, influencing the victory.
Not only did he attack and make shots from low, but he also got to the line and led all players in free throw attempts with 13. Allen also played aggressively on defense and competed for shots. His three offensive rebounds were a game-high.
Allen had 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds.
Cleveland will need more of the same versus the Knicks’ height and low-post presence.
“At some point in the third, I looked up and he only had three rebounds, but I felt like he was completely dominating the glass,” Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill said of Allen after the game. “They couldn’t get offensive rebounds.
“It’s so cool to watch. One of my favorite guys on the planet. It’s so fun to watch when he takes over a game like that.”
