Dribbles: Cavs have one last chance to save season, or face the fallout

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 115-94 home loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 on Friday.

1. Some things aren’t really a surprise. This is just who the Cavs were heading into the playoffs. You never knew what you were gonna get. Why change now?

2. The Cavs sort of mucked their way through a seven-game slugfest in the first round against Toronto. Now, here they are again. Game 7. Only this time, it’s not in Cleveland.

3. The same old things haunted them in a chance to close it out at home. Turnovers. Sloppiness. Lack of force. Lack of will. The Pistons outworked and outhustled them, and in all the key areas.

4. Coach Kenny Atkinson has said that it’s vital for the Cavs to “win the scrums.” He said that last series. It’s true even more now. But as I watched Game 6, I just sat there and thought, “Detroit is winning every battle for position and the ball.”

5. Like, every last one. And that’s why this chance to close it out wasn’t really even close.

6. The Pistons played with fire and determination. The Cavs seemed to approach it like a regular-season game in November. That wasn’t their mindset. It just looked that way. Credit the Pistons. And blame the Cavs.

7. Donovan Mitchell (18 points, 6-of-20 shooting) couldn’t get anything going. Everything was a struggle. Everything seemed forced. 

8. James Harden (23 points, eight turnovers) again didn’t value possessions, was much too casual with the ball. That’s been very hit-or-miss, with too many misses.

9. Evan Mobley (18 points) and Jarrett Allen (13) didn’t play bad. They just didn’t play great. Everyone, again, allowed the Pistons way too many second-chance opportunities.

10. Basically, every concern we’ve had about the Cavs all postseason was evident here. Just even worse than usual.

11. Atkinson on the loss: “They won the force battle. We won it last game. They won it tonight. We just gotta switch it, gotta turn the tables. We can’t not be the more aggressive team.”

12. You could tell which team was fighting to extend its season … and which team may have thought that just being back home for a closeout game was enough. It wasn’t. Not even close.

13. Cade Cunningham was kept relatively in check with 21 points. But Jalen Duren finally got going with 15 points and 11 rebounds. That second part isn’t great news for the Cavs. They can live with Cunningham going nuts. He doesn’t it against everyone. But in the games the Cavs won, Duren has basically done nothing.

14. Mitchell finished a minus-25. That means the Cavs were outscored by 25 points when he was on the court. There are a lot of variables in there, and he can’t come close to being blamed for that alone. But it sure looks bad.

15. Now, there’s still a Game 7, yes. Sunday in Detroit. The Cavs have 48 minutes to be the absolute best version of themselves. They’re the veteran team in this situation. But given their history since about February, we can’t really know for sure which team will show up.

16. That said, I’m not ready to write their obituary. They played great in the final eight minutes or so of Game 5 (also in Detroit). But Mitchell and Harden have a reputation for not being able to get out of the second round. We know it, they know it.

17. They are getting one more game to end that narrative. Or get to listen to it for at least another year.

18. And trust me, if the Cavs don’t win Game 7 … oh, boy. It won’t just be Harden and Mitchell who will hear about it. That right there is the tame version, too. We could be talking Blow It Up City.

19. Still, now is not the time for that. “I look at it like we still have a great shot at this,” Atkinson said.

20. He went on to say that the “switch flipped” immediately after the game. No heads were down. No one was overly discouraged. “I heard the word opportunity in that locker room,” he said. “… This is supposed to be hard. It will be a great challenge for our group.”

21. It’s a challenge that needs to be met. Or we will never see this version of the Cavs again. Opportunity knocking? In two days, the Cavaliers had better answer the door.

Box Score | Pistons 115, Cavs 94