Playoff Live Thread: Cavs vs. Pistons, Game 1 (#PushTheButton)
2016-04-17
For much of the 2015-16 regular season, we all heard about the “switch.” This is the supposed metaphorical device that the Cleveland Cavaliers were equipped with internally, which would allow them to rise up and out of the mire of monotony and boredom that plagued them through the grind of another 82 game campaign. Anytime signs of discord (be it a blowout loss… a coaching change… a player not measuring up… a social media drama, etc.) cropped up, the urge to reach for the panic button could always be assuaged by the reassuring idea of this switch being flipped at some point.
Last season, we saw the switch a bit earlier on, as the Cavs trampled nearly all comers from about the middle of January until the start of the post-season. Then, due to injury, they had to grind into a whole other gear to come within two games of attaining a title before finally running out of fuel. Still, there it was… that team-wide toggle that propelled them nearly to the pinnacle of the sport. And, if it existed then, it theoretically still should… so, whether it’s a switch, or more like the start button pictured above… now is the time for the Cavs to flip it, push it and turn it on.
It’s time to forget about the drama of this roller-coaster season. Time to leave behind the second-guessing and doubt. Time to go all Zero Dark 23 on the outside world and focus on winning 16 more games.
The first step should be the easiest… but you know what they say about first steps… sometimes, they can be a doozy. More than anything, this matchup with the Pistons will be a challenge for Tyronn Lue. He’s the true rookie head coach who now must face off against as many as four adversaries, all with more experience than he possesses. First up, the Master of Panic himself, Stan Van Gundy, who is not only the most experienced playoff coach in the EC, but has also solved the puzzle of the Cavs once before to dash their title hopes. This time around, he doesn’t have quite the same arsenal at his disposal… but he does still have a fairly dominant big man (Andre Drummond), paired with an often under-rated trigger man (Reggie Jackson), and surrounded by a bevy of three and D guys. If that sounds eerily familiar… relax… it isn’t quite a 2009 flashback just yet.
That’s because, standing in the Pistons’ way is a much more accomplished, battle-tested and fundamentally talented Cavalier squad. Regardless of the ups and downs of the regular season, this is still the team that finished as the top seed in the East, winning 57 games despite missing Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert for the first two months, switching head coaches at the mid-point, and living in the media hype shadow of a historic season by their West rivals, the Golden State Warriors. Yet, as a result, this is a team that is almost being overlooked for a championship in the face of overwhelming odds, not only against the Warriors, but also the almost-as-historic San Antonio Spurs. And, maybe… just maybe, that’s exactly where the Cavs want to be right now.
These playoffs represent a shot at redemption for both Kyrie and Kevin, given their unfortunate injuries last year… and, no matter how uneven their regular season performances have been, the post-season is an entirely different animal. It remains to be seen if they and the Cavs as a team can flip the switch, although it certainly appears as if LeBron has done it already over the past six weeks. Maybe the King should have everyone listening to the Chemical Brothers in an effort to truly push the button and “Galvanize.”
Even though the Pistons represent just the first step in what is hopefully a long playoff run, it seems unlikely that the Cavs will allow themselves to take them lightly… especially since Detroit took three of their four meetings in the regular season (granted the last one doesn’t really count, so maybe two of three). I fully expect Cleveland to take care of business at home, particularly in Game 1. It’s not out of the question that they might drop a game in Detroit, but that may be more to mess with Justin Bieber fans than anything else…
Game time is 3 pm (EST), and the game can be seen nationally on ABC or heard on 1100 WTAM.
Starting lineups for the Cavs include: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. And for the Pistons: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tobias Harris, Marcus Morris and Andre Drummond.
All Cavs are available with the exception of Mo Williams (knee). According to Ty Lue, Iman Shumpert will be ready to play.
Cavs C Tyronn Lue says Iman Shumpert (L knee) is "great" and is available for his normal minutes.
— Steve Aschburner (@AschNBA) April 17, 2016
Prediction: The Cavs push the button and blow past the Pistons for a convincing Game 1 victory, 112-97.
And if that doesn’t get you hyped up… maybe this will…
[Editorial Advisory: Warning, the song playing underneath the video does have some explicit language.]
I have to admit, this was the first Cavs game that I watched after we traded away Varejao. I felt my heart broken and betrayed after that trade and I lost a lot of interest in the Cavs this year because of it. I know Varejao must have felt it a thousand times more than I did, but I remember being alongside the Cavs all through the Byron Scott/SKYenga/Alonzo Gee/The Herculoids era. He not only went through that era, but he was a part of it the entire way through. For years, I was in the never-trade-Varejao camp. Here was… Read more »
I may not agree with everything in your post, James… but it’s incredibly thoughtful and definitely strikes at the heart of why there is at least a faction of Cavs fans who are somewhat disheartened by everything that has transpired this season. Thanks for sharing your perspective on this. And thanks for coming back to do so.
Blazers are so much better coached than the Clippers.
Can you guys talk about how much deeper the East is than the West in the podcast?
DET, IND, CHA, BOS (10*>) HOU, MEM, DAL, POR
But obviously,
GSW, SAS, OKC, LAC (10*>) CLE, TOR, MIA, ATL
So maybe I don’t even know what my point is…
It will be interesting to see what the Pistons counter is to the Cavs going small. Obviously, I would think seeing how Drummond struggled pm defense with Love at the 5, the Cavs would be smart to play Frye at the 5 when Love needs a blow for the same effect. We’ve seen TT struggle versus Drummond consistently, so this may not be the best series for TT to get tons of minutes.
Lotta heart in this Cavs team.
Cavs kicked butt today. Never got down on themselves. Never let the Pistons get in their heads. Pure awesomeness
Because of injuries, the griz have been reduced to the Kings with a good attitude. I am actually amazed at how well they DO play with their lack of depth and talent. They have 5 guys who are starters in the NBA, but no team wants those 5 guys to be their actual starters as a group. And yet…i bet they steal a game from the Spurs. What I wouldn’t give for the Cavs to buy in to a gameplan the way they do as a team.
That was domination. Pistons shot the lights out and we still won by a lot.
no, it was not even close to domination. we got crap from our bench. domination will come in the next three games. Cols…I need you to call Lebron and tell him to embrace his inner villain. If Stan Van Gundy wants to play mind games to get the refs on his side, lebron needs to go full miami-year-2 evil and get cutthroat. physical d, dominating in the paint, and REBOUNDING like a big man.
Lebron led th Cavs in rebounding last post season. FYI
I am fully aware. And if we intend to go small most of the time, as i have no doubt we do, he will have to do that again and then some more if we are going to win a title. This is the cavs year. Lebrun’s desire is too strong, and Kyrie’s desire to prove himself valuable is too strong, and Kevin Love’s desire to WIN, FINALLY, is too strong. We will not lose in the Finals. But Lebron has to go apes%!$.
Cavs are facing one of the tougher 8 seeds in the last little while. Probably the toughest 8 seed in the east for a long while. Just gotta win each of the first 4 games. If blowouts come then great. But last year’s round one wasn’t a bunch of blowouts but four hard fought games and then some rest makes a big difference down the stretch of the post season rather than 6 hard games.
Drummond, Drummond, Drummond…
Points in the Paint: DET 24, CLE 38
Second Chance Points: DET 6, CLE 20
…Oh.
I know the Pistons scored a lot of first half points, but I think the goal was to close off the paint and I think they largely succeeded. The Pistons just shot like crazy from 3. Like, impossibly crazy.
Really good game offensively for the Cavs big three but a totally awful defensively in the first half. I hope the Cavs can find a way to get better defending against the 3 ball.
I know sometimes the game plan is to force the opposing team to shoot the 3 ball cause most of their guys don’t shoot it that well but just giving wide open 3’s is just another history.
The Cavs need to fix that. I think is mostly about effort so they need to bring it already.
Granted Lue plays his cards correctly, and the Cavs continue to respond to Detroit’s punches, this could be just the test the Cavs needed in the first round. Really ramp up their defense.
I’ve generally been down on Lue, and continued to think he is an idiot after he started TT in this game. But we should give him credit for his adjustments in the second half. I saw a stat somewhere on this site and Blatt was a much better second half coach than Lue, suggesting that Lue’s weakness is in-game adjustments. Hopefully this is a sign that Lue might be getting better at this.
If Love at the five was so effective, I would image a line up of both Love and Frye at the 4 and 5 could really open up the floor. Lue needs to consider more possible line ups. Hope SVG’s adjustments don’t out weigh Lue’s.
Outstanding games from LeBron and Love. Good win – they took quite a punch from the Pistons.
I’m dismayed that the Cavs best lineup only saw 1 minute of action. And no Frye was puzzling.
But a win is a win – the defensive intensity in the 2nd half was good – they made some adjustments. Kyrie is still God-awful in PnR D – it’s something that HAS to improve, or he will be their downfall. At least he chipped in on offense tonight.
Solid win. Good to see the team pushed and respond under pressure. But, obviously, they can play much better. KI is getting closer to his peak, and Love is really impressive of late.
Mozgov has to start. He needs to lay the lumber on Drummond and use his fouls. He should play around 15 min. Also, need to see Frye out there.
Need to do a better job of preventing penetration and slowing ball movement. Need more physicality on the perimeter.
Thought the refs didn’t have such a good game.
K-Love was amazing. Kyrie was a bit better on defense in the second half.
Mozzy and his perpetual negative +/- (-5 in 5 minutes today) is fine sitting on the bench IMO. Drummond didn’t even have a good game, only 13 and 11.
Heat making mincemeat out of the Hornets right now.
Scary stuff.
It’s one quarter! They did the same thing to Boston to the other day and then collapsed. They are a very streaky offensive team. I got Charlotte in 6.
Luol Deng hit 3-3 from deep. Now that is luck!
Not while Jeremy Lin is wearing that ridiculous topknot…
41 in first quarter… scary!
WOW!
IF you would have told me a wk ago he would play center in this game, I would have said , Nooooooo.!! Love was so locked in like I never seen him before. Just don’t overuse him, Lue. You take a beating at Center
Terrific tough win. Love and LeBron have figured out Kyrie HAS to use the screen if they BOTH pick for him at the same time! Nice 4th quarter for KI, though — made some good helping defensive plays and took up the scoring load. No 4th Q fade from KLove this time! He was strong on D and all over the place.
You gotta think that’s the Piston’s best shot.
LOL I missed that play.. That would be a Captain Obvious moment for Kyrie.
AC making a good point on the postgame saying that Reggie Jackson’s frustration was mostly with not being able to get into his two man game with Drummond…
I agree. He also has that ab strain too where you didn’t see him drive to the hole numerous times like he had in the past.
his freakout over that phantom foul was really unnecessary. Taking himself out of the game, mentally.
That’s good. Get him to freak out again. Delly and JR could help there