DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons succumbed to the Orlando Magic 94-88 in Game 4 to go down 3-1 in the first-round series. The Pistons came short-handed to an old-school brawl at the KIA Center in downtown Orlando. Cade Cunningham led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 7-of-23 from the field. Sloppiness characterized his performance, as he committed 8 turnovers. Jalen Duren had another meh performance with 12 points and eight rebounds. Tobias Harris added 20 points in a faux second-option role, though his struggles from behind the arc continued as he didn’t make any of his 5 three-point attempts. Coach JB Bickerstaff and his coaching staff will have to go back to the drawing board and make these adjustments to give the Pistons a fighting chance.
3 Adjustments The Pistons Could Make In Game 5 To Prevent A Gentleman’s Sweep
Let Cade Breathe (Less On-Ball, More Impact)
Yes, you read that right. Detroit’s MVP candidate up until late March needs to feature more off the ball. Heliocentrism can only get you so far. See where it got Mike D’Antoni, James Harden, and the Rockets. Cade leads all players in usage rate (35.9%, min. 2 games played). Dependence on Cunningham turned Detroit into a regular-season juggernaut. However, that heliocentrism rarely ever translates to postseason success because the tempo slows down, leading to more half-court sets where defenders can more easily help off their man to double or triple-team a star player. Cunningham is experiencing all that attention in real time and, understandably, is struggling with it.
Don’t get me wrong, Cade is putting up numbers, just inefficiently. He’s averaging 29.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists, shooting 42% from the field and sub-30 from behind the arc. Cunningham’s made just 10 threes in this series despite attempting 35. He’s attempting too many pull-up threes. Cade is 6-of-24 on those shots in this series. He just doesn’t have the legs since he got back from the collapsed lung.
His turnover problem—averaging about 6.8 a game—can also be traced to his high usage. Most in Game 4 came from the Magic’s defense adapting to his tendencies and teammates’ mistakes. By letting Ausar Thompson run the offense more beside Cade, Bickerstaff can leverage Thompson’s athleticism to keep his defender honest with constant drives to the rim. This will force the defense to collapse, thereby giving just that extra room to shooters.
Trim the Non-Shooting Fat (Rethinking Ausar’s Role)
The Pistons are operating at a spacing disadvantage starting both Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren. Their shooting is largely nonexistent, so their defenders can cheat off them to double-team Cade or cut off outlet passes to the perimeter. Should Thompson be benched for Caris LeVert and Kevin Huerter? It’s unclear if Bickerstaff will consider that, but he definitely has to reduce Thompson’s minutes. Bickerstaff needs to get very creative with his lineups because he didn’t empower Thompson’s three-point shooting this season. It’s looking more and more like a missed opportunity. Instead of consistently giving him reps—at least three attempts per game—it seems like he’s been discouraged from shooting altogether.
LeVert gives the team more shooting while balancing it out with great defense. Huerter is shooting 40% on three-pointers, though he has attempted only five. That has to change if the Pistons want to prevent a gentleman’s sweep. Unironically, both players own the top two net ratings on the team. Despite all the good things Ausar does, this team just needs more shooting around Cunningham.
Beef Stew Over Bounce (A Tough Call at Center)
Duren arguably had his best game of the playoffs in Game 4, and yet he was still awful. Isaiah Stewart clearly outplayed him despite scoring just eight points and grabbing three boards. Stewart put up a mini block party with eight blocks while nailing a three-pointer. His ability to space the floor unlocks more room for Cunningham and others to work with. Bickerstaff acknowledged the two-way presence Stewart gives the team in his postgame presser: “Yeah, I mean he’s doing a great job protecting the rim. Obviously, he creates spacing with his ability to knock down shots. But, you know, again he’s the heart of it. To be able to defend the way that he does, make the interior so tough to score in there.”
Despite being built like a Greek god, Duren is still just 22 and is struggling under the bright lights. Sometimes, being benched can spark a response in a player like JD, especially when his understudy is playing impactful basketball. This will be a big call to make in a win-or-go-home situation, but the Pistons need to bench Jalen Duren in Game 5 to give the team a fighting chance. Cunningham will benefit the most from such a move. Every adjustment the Pistons make must put Cade Cunningham in a better position to succeed if they want to prevent a gentleman’s sweep in Game 5 in front of their home crowd at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.
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