Live Thread: Cavs @ Pistons (Game 3)

The Cavs head to the Palace to take on Detroit for game three of the first round. With two wins, they’re are in position to finish off the Pistons, at least mentally. Detroit will come out fighting for their life and looking to get their home court crowd fired up.

Stan Van Gundy took a verbal swing at Tyron Lue after game two when asked about Lue’s decision to put LeBron back in the game to start the second quarter.

“That’s really smart coaching. It is. That’s really smart coaching, to put LeBron on the floor.

“I give him a lot of credit for that ‘adjustment,’ if that’s what you want to call it.” [Joe Vardon, Cleveland.com]

Stan Van was making fun of the question with his answer.

LeBron James also felt the elbows were flying a little too freely in game two. And, Stanley Johnson even talked a little smack.

“He hit two 3’s, which is not, like, his norm. He hit a tough-ass turnaround on me, and he played really physical. I battled physical. He didn’t get any paint touches. He made a bunch of tough shots. So he’s going to have to go 40 minutes and make those same tough shots every game for them to do what they did tonight.”

“I’m definitely in his head, that’s for sure,” Johnson said after a 107-90, Game 2 loss to the Cavs. “That’s for sure.” [ESPN]

Johnson’s smack talk wasn’t even warranted though. The King was 6-6 when Johnson covered him on Wednesday. It was actually so unwarranted that Stan Van talked to him about poking the bear. Verbally, these two teams are going for the kill.

Both teams have had hot shooting games from beyond the arc so far in this series. Detroit was 15-29 in game one, and the Cavs tied a playoff record making 20 3-pointers in game two. The Cavs have made 32 total deep balls, which is the most so far in the playoffs. As they look for win number three, I hope they can remain calm and fight anything Detroit throws their way without getting into trouble. The Pistons could play dirty tonight, fearing their playoff time is over if they don’t win. If that happens, the Cavs need to handle that game plan with dignity. Any decisions they make carry over into round two.

The Cavs should figure it out tonight. In game one, they slowed Andre Drummond. In game two, they slowed the three-ball down. In Game three, Cleveland should find a balance between protecting the paint and the 3-line. Cavs 112- Detroit 96.