| Any Chance For Detroit Against The Cavs? Authored by Matthew Schleifer - April 14, 2009 - 5:48 pm
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During this season's games against Cleveland, the Pistons did a fairly good job forcing someone other than LeBron James to beat them, not allowing him to dominate every aspect of the game the way he usually does. In their last meeting, the two teams played a low scoring game, with the Pistons able to force LeBron into a weak shooting night. Without LeBron playing his best, the Pistons were able to make the game close but still ultimately lost by six points.
As the season series, or a quick look at their respective records shows, the Cavaliers are a much better team, and they are good enough to beat the Pistons without a dominant performance from LeBron.
The Pistons have looked look like a team that is starting to and actually falling apart, while the Cavaliers appear to be peaking. Nonetheless, the Pistons do have the experience and veteran savvy of a team that is no stranger to long playoff runs. As impressive as the Cavaliers have been all season and reaching the Finals in 2007, the Pistons won’t bow out in the first round without a fight.
The obvious storyline to look for is LeBron James dominance versus the Pistons balance and depth. More interesting for Pistons fans moving forward is going to be how the young Pistons who have become key contributors this season (Amir Johnson, Rodney Stuckey, and Will Bynum) are going to perform in their first playoff series being depended on as key contributors. Everyone noticed how Stuckey stepped up big off the bench in last year's playoffs. That performance, while impressive, was for a deeper Pistons team asking a young player to contribute. This year Stuckey is going to have to play big minutes and produce in big moments if the Pistons are going to have a chance.
For Cavaliers fans, all eyes are going to be on Mo Williams and LeBron on whether this duo looks like a dominant playoff tandem. Even though James and Williams have had success together in the regular season, the playoffs are played at a different pace and level of intensity. Williams must prove that he is ready to perform on the game’s biggest stage. James’ dominance is what makes this Cavaliers team so good, but it's going to be up to Williams to step up when James can't be as dominant. The Cavaliers’ fans should also be watching to see how LeBron, who has typically always taken his game to another level in the playoffs, is going to build on the excellent regular season that he’s already had. After such a dominant regular season, you can be sure that he wants to complete this incredible season with a trip to the finals.
The key for Detroit if they’re to have any chance of winning the series is Rasheed Wallace. While the Pistons wing players Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton provide most of the teams scoring, Wallace is an important part of the Pistons game plan. It’s almost become cliché to mention how much more effective the Pistons are when Wallace is in the game and engaged. In the past, the Pistons became nearly unbeatable when Wallace was on his game especially on the defensive end. Now the Pistons are going to need a strong effort from Wallace every night just to have a chance at beating Cleveland. Wallace’s contributions are important on both ends of the court. Wallace is the Pistons’ best post defender and someone who can spread the floor on the offensive end giving Detroit’s guards more room to work around the basket or coming off screens. When Wallace is playing well defenses are forced to respect his 3-point shooting as well as his low-post scoring. If Wallace isn’t playing well, it will force the Pistons guards to pick up more of the scoring load on offense, and leave the Pistons much weaker on the defensive end.
The key for the Cavaliers is going to be Mo Williams and the rest of their shooters. While LeBron dominates the game on both ends of the court and controls the Cavaliers offense, Williams is a talented offensive player who can push the ball and shoot the 3-pointer enough to keep defenses from being able to focus only on LeBron as they have in past seasons. Williams does not have much playoff experience and the pressure will be on him to produce as the second scoring option behind LeBron. For the Cavaliers to beat the Pistons, Mo Williams and the other shooters like Daniel Gibson and Delonte West will have to be able to take some of the pressure off of LeBron and shoot a high percentage on the open shots that they will be getting when the Pistons double-team LeBron. The Cavaliers shooters have done a great job all season of making their open shots, forcing teams to pay for double-teaming LeBron.
I’m going to go out on a not so huge limb and pick the Cavaliers to win this series 4 – 1. The Cavaliers have been the NBA’s best team this season and have the world's most dominant player. As the Pistons have shown this season they just aren’t the same team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals six years in a row and they’re definitely not the team that won 59 games last year. Instead, they are a below .500 team that has struggled to beat the NBA’s elite teams. The Pistons pride and veteran savvy should allow them to take a game at home, but the Cavaliers should be able to win this series convincingly in five games. |
