Dribbles: Cavs finally looked like the team they believe they are

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 125-94 Game 7 road walloping of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

1. Well, that sure was unexpected. Maybe not to the Cavs, maybe not to you … but it was to me. 

2. And probably the Pistons, too.

3. Bottom line: The Cavs played their most complete game of the season when it meant the most. That was especially true of Donovan Mitchell.

4. Mitchell has scored more points. He’s had better individual nights. But from a team-leader standpoint … man, I don’t know that we’ve seen him better.

5. You could just see the look on his face at tipoff. It said he really wanted this one. Like, really wanted it. He was not going to be denied. He would be relentless, the best player on the court.

6. Mitchell had never been out of the second round. Not in Cleveland. Not in Utah before that. So he drove and dished, and threw Detroit’s defense for a loop. The result? Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley throwing down some easy dunks early.

7. The Pistons had hounded Mitchell all series. When he drove the lane, they swarmed him. So instead of forcing up shots to try to get the Cavs going… Mitchell delivered the ball.

8. That did a few things. For one, it opened up the court for others, getting the big men involved early. For two, it made it clear that Mitchell wasn’t going to try to do this alone. He would defer — for the good of the team.

9. That didn’t just create shots for everyone else. It created shots for Mitchell.

10. So everyone touched the ball early. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. The ball, as they say, had energy. And that cohesive offense translated to some intense defense. Mitchell was the star. But everyone got involved. Everyone had their moments.

11. Allen was massive in the third quarter. His two best games of the playoffs have come in Game 7s. Mobley was utterly fantastic defensively and on the glass. Sam Merrill came off the bench and offered a huge lift, burying threes, playing aggressively and just making an all-around difference.

12. To win a Game 7 on the road, you need an X-factor. Merrill was that man.

13. Mitchell finished with 26 points, eight assists, six rebounds and ZERO turnovers. He wasn’t just a flashy and fun star. He was an efficient and a calming influence. That’s just Mitchell.

14. Coach Kenny Atkinson to reporters: “He kept this thing together this year when things weren’t going great. He was the beacon, the light. His leadership. He carried us on the court.”

15. Atkinson wasn’t finished. “When things weren’t going great, (Mitchell) was the person everyone looked to,” Atkinson said. “We could’ve splintered.”

16. The Cavs could’ve been torn apart, actually, had they lost this game. They weren’t about to allow that to happen. Clearly.

17. Allen went for 23 points, seven rebounds a steal and a block. And one drive straight down the lane for a high-flying, one-handed jam.

18. Merrill also scored 23, knocking down five of his eight threes. On more than one occasion (like, five), he sacrificed his body, either on defense or in chase of a loose ball.

19. Lost in all this, perhaps, was the performance of Mobley — 21 points, 7-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Of the Cavs’ 14 playoff games, this was definitely in Mobley’s top two, and we’re mentioning him fourth.

20. That’s just how great this night was for the team from Cleveland.

21. James Harden (nine points, 0-of-6 on threes) didn’t have a great night shooting. But he did so many other things well. He finished with six assists — and just one turnover. He also grabbed a few big rebounds when it seemed the Pistons might make a run. Translation: Harden did a lot of the little things that older vets do at this time of year.

22. Atkinson elected to start Max Strus in place of Dean Wade, and I at first worried that the Cavs would miss Strus’ offense off the bench. Then Wade scored five points before Mitchell had so much as one.

23. Shows what I know. Also shows that, yeah, the Cavs had to know pretty quickly that things were going their way.

24. Defensively, the Cavs held Cade Cunningham to 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting (including 0-of-7 on threes). They were all over him, all the time. They also frustrated Tobias Harris into exactly zero field goals.

25. Being physical and relentless will do that for you. Perhaps that is something the Cavs can take into the Eastern Conference finals, which tip off Tuesday in New York.

26. Ah, yes. The conference finals. “I think for us we can’t really look at it, ‘We did it, we made it to the conference finals,'” Mitchell said. “Hey man, that’s not the end all. We still got more to do.”

27. More Atkinson: “When we play with force — it’s really the key — force on both ends, our talent, we’re really hard to beat.”

28. And Cavs fans everywhere gave a hearty forever and ever amen.

29. The win eliminated former coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who guided the Pistons to 60 wins. What a year for Detroit. But Bickerstaff offered praise to the Cavs. “They just played a great game,” he said.

30. Anyway, Mitchell is right. The Cavs are merely in the conference finals. It does not get easier. They have played seven straight games, every other day. They will play at least the next four… you guessed it, every other day. The Knicks have been sitting around, waiting for an opponent.

31. I’ll have more on that series soon. For now, just know this — the Cavs handled Game 7 like a team that expects to keep playing.

• Box Score | Cavs 125, Pistons 94
• More Cavaliers | Cavs finally break through, as core delivers defining Game 7