NBA playoff takeaways: Cavaliers win as Pistons let Cade Cunningham down

In the all-important Game 5, the Cavaliers did something they hadn’t done all postseason long: they won away from Cleveland.

The Cavs outlasted the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, May 13 to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, putting them one victory away from a date in the conference finals with the New York Knicks.

And now the series will head back to Cleveland, where the Cavaliers haven’t lost in the playoffs, winning all six games they’ve played at Rocket Arena.

James Harden led all Cavaliers with 30 points on 8-of-21 shooting (38.1%), while Donovan Mitchell added 21 and Evan Mobley chipped in 19.

The Cavaliers won, 117-113, in overtime.

Here are takeaways from Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons:

The Cavaliers, frankly, got lucky with all their turnovers

In some ways, this is a game the Cavaliers shouldn’t have won. Their star players, Harden and Mitchell, combined to shoot just 38.5%. They faced a 15-point deficit in the second quarter. But more concerning were 17 turnovers, many of them inexcusable.

The Cavaliers were far too casual with their ball security, floating lazy passes across the court and telegraphing them at times. That allowed Detroit to turn those giveaways into 27 points, and it’s also why the Pistons claimed a 23-7 edge in fast-break points.

The Cavaliers were better in the second half, but that careless offense can completely sabotage a team’s chance of winning. Cleveland should consider itself fortunate, because if the Cavs move on to the conference finals, the Knicks won’t let them off easy.

The Detroit Pistons are far too dependent on Cade Cunningham

It was another banger for Cunningham, Detroit’s unquestioned star. Cunningham scored 39 points on 13-of-27 shooting, adding 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Yet, once again, the Pistons wasted a marvelous game from Cunningham because his supporting cast has not been able to contribute sufficiently.

Daniss Jenkins, making his first career postseason start, did score 19 in a solid 8-of-17 night, even though he struggled from 3-point range (2-of-8). But Tobias Harris (13 points) and Jalen Duren (9 points and 5 rebounds) struggled. This is becoming thematic for the Pistons.

As long as they look to Cunningham to be their savior — particularly in the clutch, when teams can play a little more physically and throw double-teams at him — Detroit will struggle to advance deep into the playoffs.

Cunningham is stellar, one of the top 10 basketball players in the world. But the pressure and responsibility placed on his shoulders is unsustainable, and it also leads to unforced errors; his 6 turnovers Wednesday night — including a debilitating one late in overtime — are an issue he needs to fix.

Game 6 can end a lot of narratives

Donovan Mitchell has had some massive playoff games in his career, but his teams have never broken through the conference semifinal round. James Harden, despite a handful of big postseason performances across his 185 career playoff games, has a reputation — one that’s unfair, frankly — of shrinking when it matters most.

But if Cleveland can defend homecourt Friday, May 15 to get Cleveland through to the Eastern Conference finals, Mitchell and Harden will have the chance to reframe those narratives.

There have been times this series when both have struggled somewhat. Yet, when Cleveland has needed clutch buckets, it has been both Mitchell and Harden to deliver.

The Pistons, who are 1-4 this postseason on the road, will be playing desperate, so the Cavaliers will need to be prepared and ruthless. Look for Mitchell and Harden to try to set the tone.

Paul Reed is eating into Jalen Duren’s minutes. Is a benching next?

Probably not. Duren, after all, was a first-time All-Star this season and still does impact the game on the defensive end, which doesn’t always show up in box scores.

But Reed once again outplayed Duren, and it’s clear that Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff is adjusting his rotations because of it. Reed played a series-high 17 minutes Wednesday night, which was just eight fewer than Duren’s 25 minutes.

Reed scored 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots, while Duren scored 9 points, picked up 5 rebounds and didn’t record a block.

Duren’s plus-minus of -16 was the team low Wednesday night and he has now posted a -42 over the last three games of the series.

In the regular season, Duren had developed a steady mid-range jumper that simply is not part of his game right now. It seems the only offense Duren contributes are putbacks or the occasional lob; he took just 5 shots Wednesday, compared to 7 from Reed, who is simply playing with more energy and pace as soon as he steps onto the floor.

It appears to be a confidence issue for Duren, and Detroit needs him to at least work the glass, because his offensive rebounding can give the Pistons second chances and his defensive rebounding can spring transition opportunities.

That's the Evan Mobley (and Max Strus) the Cavaliers needed

At times in the playoffs, Mobley has found it difficult to assert himself offensively. The last three games, though, have been steady progress. Mobley scored 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, grabbed 8 rebounds and swatted away 3 blocks. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, the first at the end of the third quarter, and the second with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter to close Detroit’s lead to two points.

Strus was also electric, going 6-of-8 from 3-point range to score 20 points off the bench, adding 8 rebounds. When he ignites, Strus is a key part of Cleveland’s offense and can help launch runs. He scored 64.5% of the team’s bench points Wednesday night. In order to close out Detroit in Game 6, the Cavs will need the same type of production from both.