The Bench and Big Men Give the Cavs a Boost Going into Game 4

Unlike the First Round matchup between the Cavs and Raptors, the Eastern Conference Semis unfold in rapid succession, with matchups every other day until one squad advances. 

One side of the East bracket was decided on Sunday, with the Knicks steamrolling the Sixers in four games by an average of 22.3 points per. Earlier in the day, the Cavaliers – who pushed past the Pistons on Saturday to get their first win of the series – got in a final tuneup at CCC heading into Monday night’s Game 4. 

After dropping the first two games in Motown – falling behind by double-digits in each contest – the Cavs played from in front for most of Game 3, outscoring the Pistons by two touchdowns in the second period and holding them off the rest of the way. Detroit clawed back from a 17-point second half deficit to take a brief one-point lead in the fourth, but Max Strus, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden slammed the door down the stretch. 

The Cavs had to overcome double-digit deficits in each of the last three games of the Toronto series and had to come back to get to within striking distance in the first two games of the East Semis. Grabbing a big lead was a luxury on Saturday afternoon, turning the tables and making the Pistons need to empty their tank on a comeback attempt. 

“It felt a lot better (to play with a lead),” said Jarrett Allen after Sunday’s practice. “We felt like we had more control of the game, instead of always having to fight your way back, always having to make sure that every play is perfect. It's supposed to be perfect, but you have to take it to another level when you're behind and the pressure is on you to make every play feel like a home run. When you're ahead, you can hit singles, you can make sure that you can slow the ball down, you can do whatever.” 

Allen – who finished with 18 points, four boards and a pair of blocks on Saturday – has been very good on both ends so far in the postseason. 

In 10 games, he’s shooting 66 percent (47-of-71) from the floor, notching his seventh game with double-figures and ninth straight game with at least one block. The 9^th-year big man has 20 swats already in this year’s playoff run, including seven games with multiple rejections. 

Allen (and Evan Mobley) have also made Jalen Duren work for everything he’s gotten through the first three games of the series. Duren led Detroit in both scoring and rebounds (21.7ppg, 12.3rpg) against Cleveland in the regular season, but he’s been limited to 10.0ppg and 8.7rpg in the current playoff matchup. 

Duren has still been effective in the series, especially his three straight dunks to seal Game 1 in Detroit. And both teams’ stars have been solid in the series. Cade Cunningham is averaging 25.0 points per through three games, doubling-up with 10 assists in Game 2 and recording a triple-double in Game 3. For the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell is averaging a series-best 29.7ppg – topping the 30-point plateau in each of the last two games, and leading Cleveland with 10 boards in Game 3. 

But, as is often the case in the postseason, it’s been both teams’ role players who’ve contributed in the margins. And bench scoring through the first three games has been as close as it can get. Cleveland’s second unit has scored 80 points; Detroit’s reserves have tallied 79. 

Daniss Jenkins was lethal through the first two games, notching double-digits off the bench in both games, before being held to 1-for-5 shooting on Saturday. In Game 3, Paul Reed led the way with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and did a solid job in relief of Duren and Isaiah Stewart. 

For Cleveland, Max Strus has been a thorn in Detroit’s side in two of the three matchups. In Game 1, he went 4-of-8 from long-range, finishing with 19 points and five boards. And, of course, he made the play of the game on Saturday – picking off Cade Cunningham’s inbounds attempt and scoring the go-ahead basket with 2:32 to play to help seal the deal. 

But Dennis Schröder was the reserve who lit the fuse in that Game 3 win, going 4-of-5 from the floor, drilling all three three-pointers he attempted, adding two assists and a pair of blocks and getting under the Pistons’ skin for most of the afternoon. 

“(Strus and Schröder), they're living in that same area, they’re both fierce competitors,” said Coach Kenny Atkinson on Sunday afternoon. “But Dennis, again, that's kind of why we brought him here, his pressure defense, whoever he was picking up, and the physicality that goes with that. And sometimes little guys like: Hey, turn the guy. But Dennis turns them, hits, swipes. He's got all the activity around that. And even when he gets a mismatch, size-wise, (they) don't want it. Because he gets under you. 

“I'm just so glad our vision of what he was gonna be for us in the playoffs is coming true. And three-for-three from three. A huge, huge, huge piece for us.”

The Cavs still haven’t lost at home in the postseason and have run off nine straight wins at Rocket Areana overall. Their last loss on the home floor came on March 25 against Miami. They’ve also won eight straight home playoff games against Detroit. 

But Saturday’s victory was just the start. The Wine & Gold still have their work cut out for them, but it’s a job the franchise has completed before – winning six postseason series when trailing 1-2, including the 1992 Semifinals against Boston, the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit, the 2015 Semis against Chicago, the 2018 First Round matchup against Indiana, the 2018 East Finals against Boston and, of course, the 2016 NBA Finals over Golden State. 

None of those will matter much between the lines on Monday night, however. And Cleveland’s head coach knows it. 

“(The Pistons) still feel like they have control of this series,” said Kenny Atkinson. “We’ve gotta turn that narrative. We turned it a little, right? You win one game. But to make them a little more aware of our threat, we gotta go get this one (on Monday night). Because right now, I think they still feel very confident, which I totally get. But we have to put in more doubt – and it starts with getting this one (on Monday).”