Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell didn’t have much time to revel in reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals after surviving grueling first-round matchups.
The Central Division rivals must quickly prepare for their series, which starts Tuesday night in Detroit.
“I think we’ve already moved on (to focusing on Detroit). I will enjoy watching the games for sure as I get treatment, but waiting on Tuesday, simple as that,” Mitchell said after Sunday night’s 114-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Both teams feel battle-tested after being taken to the limit in the first round. The two series, though, were different.
The top-seeded Pistons reached the second round for the first time since 2008 after becoming the 15th team to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic.
“It wasn’t the way that we would’ve drew it up, but we’ll take it,” Cunningham said after Sunday’s 116-94 win. “I think that’s the way it’s meant to be. I think we’re going to be better for it, and I’m excited for what’s to come first. Playoff win. I want to get plenty more.”
The Cavaliers are in the second round for the third straight season. Their matchup against the Raptors was the only first-round series in which the home team won all seven games.
“Toronto did some unbelievable things. They prepared us for Detroit, but we know we’re facing a really good team,” said Cavaliers guard James Harden. “They got Cade, who’s the head of the snake, who’s playing well, Tobias Harris, who’s been playing extremely well. We’ll figure out what they like to do, figure out what we want to do, and just take it from there.”
Cleveland and Detroit split the four regular-season meetings.
Grudge match?
J.B. Bickerstaff was Cleveland’s coach for five seasons, 2019-24, and guided the Cavaliers to a pair of postseason appearances. Bickerstaff was fired after the 2023-24 season and a second-round exit to Boston in five games after clashes with the front office and players.
Bickerstaff was hired by Detroit and has guided the Pistons to a pair of playoff berths and the Eastern Conference’s best record this season. It was the first time the Pistons won 60 games since 2005-06. He is a finalist for the NBA’s coach of the year and agreed to a contract extension on Monday.
The Cavaliers were the East’s top seed last year in Kenny Atkinson’s first season before being eliminated in five games by Indiana in the second round.
Help for Cunningham
Cunningham scored 227 points against the Magic, the fifth-most first-round points in NBA playoff history. His 32.4 points per game average is second in the postseason behind Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33.8). Tobias Harris has picked up some of the slack, averaging 21.6 points, but it falls off from there, with Jalen Duren next at 10.6.
Cleveland has four players averaging at least 11.4 points, with its core four of Mitchell, Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen combining to average 73.2.
In the middle
Centers Allen and Duren helped their teams advance with strong performances in Game 7. Both will need to sustain that effort in the upcoming series.
Allen had 22 points and 19 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ clinching win over the Raptors. He recorded at least two blocked shots in six straight games, and his 16 blocks are tied for the most in the playoffs. The nine-year veteran averaged 11.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in the first round.
Duren, who averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the regular season, struggled against the Magic before going for 15 points and 15 rebounds in Game 7.
Streaking along
Cleveland has won 12 straight playoff games against Detroit, tying the NBA postseason record for consecutive wins against an opponent. The streak began in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cavaliers took the final four games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time. Cleveland swept Toronto in four games in the first round in 2009 and ’16.
Keep an eye on ...
Mitchell in Game 1. The all-star guard has scored at least 30 points in an NBA-record nine straight series openers.
Mitchell is averaging 33.1 points in series openers, second-highest in NBA history for a player who has taken part in at least 10 postseason series. His playoff average of 27.8 points is seventh-best among players with at least 50 games.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
