Patryk Stachowiak
A winner-take-all Eastern Conference semifinals Game 7 is set for Sunday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Detroit Pistons, with Donovan Mitchell and Ausar Thompson set to deliver the final chapter of their individual rivalry.
Each team has won once on the opponent’s floor after both clubs took two apiece at home to open the best-of-seven. Mitchell and the Cavaliers took a 3-2 series lead with a 117-113 overtime win at Detroit on Wednesday, putting the fourth-seeded club one win from a date with the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. The top-seeded Pistons answered Friday in Cleveland, rolling to a 115-94 victory to reclaim presumed home-court advantage.
“It’s going to be a madhouse in there,” Pistons star Cade Cunningham predicted on the eve of the showdown. “The crowd is going to come to play as well. They want to insert themselves in the game.”
Detroit went 32-9 at home during the regular season, the third-best mark in the NBA, then posted a 3-1 record at Little Caesars Arena against the Orlando Magic in the first round, including a 116-94 Game 7 win to advance. Cleveland also needed seven games to reach this series. The Cavaliers haven’t dropped a Game 7 since LeBron James was 23 years old in 2008 against the Boston Celtics. Before dispatching the Magic, the Pistons hadn’t appeared in a seven-game series since eliminating Cleveland in 2006.
Mitchell, the NBA‘s seventh-leading scorer at 27.9 points per game during the regular season, has been held to 23 or fewer in three of the six games. In Cleveland‘s Game 5 win, he finished with 21 points on 7-for-18 shooting and 1-for-8 from three. Game 6 was worse: 18 points on 6-for-20 overall and 2-for-6 from deep as the Cavaliers were held to 94 points.
Thompson, a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has drawn most of the credit for Mitchell‘s difficulties. The Cavaliers believe they have the answers when the series is on the line.
“Getting him in the open court more where they can’t get their hands on him. When it’s in the halfcourt, it’s clutch, grab, hold. We got to get him in space, in the open court — kick-aheads, kick-acrosses, all that.” — Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson
The battle between starting centers Jarrett Allen and Jalen Duren has been equally decisive. Allen has claimed the statistical edge in three games, totaling 43 points and 19 rebounds against Duren‘s 28 points and 11 rebounds in those matchups, with the Cavaliers winning all three. When Duren has outplayed his counterpart, outrebounding him 33-18.
The team winning the rebounding battle has claimed four of the six games. Duren posted his second double-double of the series in Game 6 as Detroit held a 43-40 edge on the boards. Control the glass Sunday, and the series is yours. Follow TipsGG for full Game 7 coverage, odds, and analysis.