The NBA playoffs roll on Monday night with a pair of Game 4s tonight on TSN.
First up it’s the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Cavs aim to even the series at two games apiece on their home floor. Later on, Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder look to complete the sweep of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers as they hurtle forward in their NBA championship defence.
Watch the Pistons and Cavaliers tip-off at 8pm ET/5pm PT across the TSN Network, on TSN.ca and on the TSN App. At 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT you can see the Thunder take on the Lakers in L.A. on TSN1, TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Here is a closer look at the storylines heading into each game.
Game 4 – Pistons at Cavaliers
The Pistons won the first two games of the series and were on the cusp of taking a 3-0 lead when James Harden made three shots in the final two minutes that helped the Cavs avoid falling into a playoff series hole that no team has ever climbed out of.
After going 3-of-13 from the field in Game 2 and turning the ball over seven times in the opener, Harden at least momentarily quieted the narrative about his playoff shortcomings with an 8-of-14 showing to go along with seven assists that helped power the Cavs’ 116-109 win and effectively kept their season alive.
Star guard Donovan Mitchell also had his best game of this year’s playoffs with a 35-point, 10-rebound performance after he too had taken some heat for his performance over a stretch of games in Cleveland’s opening-round series against the Toronto Raptors.
Game 3 snapped a streak of five straight playoff victories by the Pistons. The Eastern Conference’s leaders during the regular season faced a 3-1 deficit against the Orlando Magic in round one but roared back with three straight victories to win their first playoff series since 2008. The most impressive of those wins came in Game 6, when Detroit rallied from a 24-point deficit. They then took Game 7 and the first two matchups of the second round by double digits.
The winner of the series will advance to face the New York Knicks, who also faced a series deficit in the opening round but have rallied for seven straight wins since. They blew out the Philadelphia 76ers to complete the sweep Sunday afternoon and outscored Philly by a combined 89 points in the series.
Game 4 – Thunder at Lakers
The Thunder have barely broken a sweat this spring as they aim to become the first repeat title winners since the Golden State Warriors in 2018.
OKC has won all seven of their playoff games thus far and six of those victories have come by double digits. Their lone “close call” was the clincher against the Phoenix Suns in the first round, which they won by nine.
Led by Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton, Ont., OKC finished with the best record in the NBA during the regular season and continues to look like the team to beat in the Western Conference. The Thunder lead the playoffs in scoring (122.1 points per game) and trail only the Knicks in total point differential (+18.2) and field goal percentage (50.9).
Gilgeous-Alexander is likely to win his second straight league MVP award and has continued his world-class play this spring, averaging 28.3 points on 51.6 per cent shooting from the field to go along with 7.0 assists and 1.3 steals a night.
Guard Ajay Mitchell has also emerged as yet another young weapon for Oklahoma City’s lethal offence, upping his points per game average to 17.4 from 13.6 during the regular season. He’s been particularly strong against the Lakers in the second round, combining for 44 points over the past two games.
The Lakers will again be without start guard Luka Doncic, who has been out since April 2 with a hamstring injury and doesn’t appear close to returning. If L.A. isn’t able to extend the series Monday night, attention will turn to the future of 41-year-old LeBron James, who is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season.
James has been noncommittal on both his next steps as a Laker and in the NBA, leaving the basketball world plenty of room for speculation. But for the moment anyway, James and the Lakers have plenty on their minds trying to stay alive against an OKC team that has looked nearly impossible to beat.
