Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 111-101 road loss to the Pistons in Game 1 on Tuesday.
1. The Cavs talked before the game about taking care of the ball. Then they went out and committed 20 turnovers.
2. That’s not going to work against this Detroit team. Not on the road. Not in the playoffs. The Cavs say they know that. But …
3. The Pistons turned those turnovers into 31 points. That was the game more than anything else.
4. James Harden finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He also had seven turnovers. He knows that can’t happen.
5. “We spot them 16 points. We give them 31 points off our turnovers and transition. That’s the game,” Harden told reporters afterward.
6. Honestly, the surprising part is the Cavs still had a chance.
7. Cleveland tied the game with 5:28 left after trailing for basically the entire night. That says something.
8. Then Detroit answered with three straight Jalen Duren dunks and the whole building exhaled at once. The Cavs had their chances. That ended them.
9. The Pistons were tougher in the scrums. Tougher on the glass. Tougher getting to loose balls. That showed up over and over. This has been the theme in the playoffs.
10. If the Cavs are going to win this series, those areas have to flip. Simple as that.
11. Jarrett Allen never got going after his monster Game 7 against Toronto. Two points and three rebounds is not enough.
12. Detroit deserves credit defensively. The Pistons were glued to the Cavs’ ballhandlers most of the night.
13. “I think at the end of the day they were the more aggressive team,” Kenny Atkinson said.
14. Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, but his streak of nine straight 30-point performances in series openers came to an end.
15. Mitchell didn’t sound rattled afterward, though. “They took care of home court Game 1,” he said. “We got to find a way to steal Game 2.”
16. Evan Mobley quietly had a solid all-around game with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
17. Mobley also said what needed to be said. “It’s a lot of things that we can control,” he said. “We have to fix those things and we have to start off better.”
18. That first quarter hurt. Detroit led by 16 after one and the Cavs spent the rest of the night climbing uphill. This too has been a theme on the road.
19. Max Strus gave the Cavs good minutes off the bench with 19 points. They needed every bit of it, because the bigs weren’t good enough. Not on this night.
20. Sam Merrill leaving early with hamstring tightness is something worth monitoring going into Game 2. Though Keon Ellis did a nice job in his place. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing more of Ellis in this series.
21. Bottom line is the same as always. The Cavs lost all three road games in Toronto in Round 1 and have now dropped Game 1 in Detroit. Eventualy they’ll have to do the intangibles somewhere other than at home. Otherwise, it’s season over.
BOX SCORE | Pistons 111, Cavs 101
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I’m just not getting the Dean Wade thing. The fascination. He runs around lost out there. A step behind on every play. Teams like their jobs when he is defending. No loose ball will be reached first by Dean Wade.
Here are some people the Dean Wade got more time than tonight.. Wade got almost 28 minutes in an NBA playoff game.
Who got less. . Max Strus.. Jarrett Allen.. Jaylen Tyson.. Dennis Schoeder.. Keon Ellis.. Thomas Bryant..
ALL of these guys should be playing over Wade.. getting more time.. they would all be more in tune with what’s happening out there. And don’t forget Nance.. I’d play him or Tomlin over Wade at times. Anything different . This is so painful. Same Merrill.. he’s not keeping up.. And he’s scared on every play… bullied on every play.. wide open for an easy dunk under the basket?? Both these guys will be passing it out to the perimeter, 100% of the time. It’s that predictability we can not afford. They’re robots out there.Not awake. Autopilot.