Playoff Live Thread: Cavs @ Pistons, Game 7 ECSF
2026-05-17Good evening CtB!
The Cavs have jumped across Lake Erie to the banks of the Detroit River for what could be the final game of their season, Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the top seeded Detroit Pistons. The odds are stacked against the good guys, but just when you think they’re dead they come back to life. Can they do it one more time? Stay tuned…
Checking out some of the stats, it’s easy to see why many think this is a referendum game on Donovan Mitchell. He’s been a complete no-show the entire playoffs no matter how you slice it. The only real question is to what degree has Kenny Atkinson sabotaged him (and James Harden) by playing Dennis Schröder, who has been far and away the worst rotation player in the playoffs for the Cavs and it’s not even close. The Cavs have a net rating of -11.6 points per 100 possessions when the Umlaut is on the floor and he has a playoff BPM of -4.6, unquestionably the worst among the playoff rotation players. The fact that Jaylon Tyson, who has been far and away Mitchell’s favorite running mate this season, has been glued to the bench in favor of Schröder makes Kenny Atkinson look like JBozo 2.0 with his own brand of teacher’s pet coaching. In the playoffs where the margin is razor thin, Donovan Mitchell and Kenny Atkinson deserve all the slander should they flame out tonight.
That being said, this should be a game the stars dream of playing… Game 7, one game away from being a date with the Knicks for the a trip to the finals. Let’s see what our boys have, #LetEmKnow
Tip off is scheduled for 8PM Eastern time and will be streamed live on Amazon Prime (#SilverforPrison) Go Cavs!!!
Many out there commenting on the polar opposite ramifications of a win v loss tonight. Astounding stakes.
I think the Pistons might have been suffering from the flu the Cavs were in game 4
Nice part is we have enough depth to load manage a little
I would guess Ellis, Tyson and Bryant see extended minutes in the first half of Game 1. Although the starters didn’t play a ton (Fro 25m) so maybe not needed
Two HUGE G7s from the Fro.
Mobes was fantastic.
I. Feel. BETTER!
KJG FINALLY A DECENT READ —— ABOUT SAM THE MAN !!!!!
yesterday they said he was unplayable
Spida: 26/6/8/1/1, O TOs. 10-22/2-6/4-6 +17
Allen: 23/7/1/1/1, 2 TO. 8-14/x/7-13 +9
Mobes: 21/12/6/2/2, 2 TO. 7-10/1-4/6-11 +31
Merrill: 23/1/2/1/0, 2 TO. 7-10/5-8/4-4 +22
Harden: 9/5/6/0/0, 1 TO. 2-10/0-6/5-8 +31
HEY BUCKAROO——- YEP “ FRISKY AND RISKY “. ……. NOMAD “ TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME TONIGHT……….AN ALL NIGHTER ………………ON THE COUCH 🤪💤🤪💤”
Possessions:
Cavs: 85 FGA + 44 FTA/2 = 107
Det: 85 FGA + 29 FTA/2 = 100
TOs: Cavs 11, Det 14
REBs: Cavs 69, 14 OReb; Det: 52, 10 OReb
Shooting:
Cavs: 50.6/32.4/63.6
Det: 35.3/30.8/75.9
Wow.. awesome.. glad for the blog bros.. NOMAD bro.. I see you being very frisky tonight (lace up those high tops).. watch out MRS NOMAD..
#LETEMKNOW
REALIZE IT WAS PROBABLY GARBAGE TIME BUT CPJ WITH 2/2/2,IN 4 MINUTES——- KID SHOULD GET SOME IF SCHROEDER s MINUTES——— I AM PROBABLY WRONG
Schroeder is tough to take…he has that dog mentality, but he also is not an offensive asset.
KA praising Donovan at the podium. He was the leader who kept the team together. So proud of him.
Tonight: Mitchell 0 TOs, Harden 1 TO.
👍🏀💪👍🏀💪——HAVE TO BE HONEST — MY NERVES WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO WATCH———THANK YOU CAVS FOR “ SHOCKING ME —- SHUTTING “ ME UP …….,,….., “ MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ —— MONKEY OFF THEIR BACK— THEY CAN RELAX AND PLAY BALL……………. KNICKS MADE IT PUBLIC THEY WANTED THE CAVS———-/ THIS SHOULD BE HUNG UP IN THE LOCKER ROOM———- GUESS WE GOT OVER THE VIRUS 🦠 JUST IN TIME—————STILL PISSED WE SIGNED SAM AND LET JEROME GO ( BIG ASS SARCASM THERE) ——- I CAN GO TO SLEEP 💤 NOW A HAPPY NOMAD —— THANK YOU CAVS !!!!
I was just explaining to my son the business decision of signing Merrill and letting Jerome go. Last year’s playoffs were a referendum on both. Great (and difficult) decision by Koby.
Jerome crapped the bed in the POs (in Rd2, anyway) and was a turnstile on D. With an already defensively challenged backcourt, we just could not do it.
Got rid of the two worst playoff players last season and now we’re benefitting
JB at the mic now. I do like him as someone else’s coach. Sorry we had to take him out.
He is excellent at building team culture and grit and defense.
I liked his answers. They are, in a sense, ahead of schedule…but the roster is not a championship one yet.
Great game from the bigs. Jarrett and Evan just controlled the paint and the boards and made great decisions to attack the basket when given an opening.
What a complete effort by everyone. Super satisfying to watch.
While I would probably rank us 4th of the teams left, I would note:
1) We beat NY by 15 after the Harden trade.
2) We beat the Spurs twice. Wemby played the 2nd one.
New world. History doesn’t mean as much as matchups. I like how we match up with the Knicks. Harden has the body to bang with Brunson. Our bigs can match KAT and Robinson. Who answers for Donovan Mitchell? He can be the difference maker.
yeah, I like our chances against the Knicks. SA/OKC? Yikes!
I can’t wait to see KAT and Robinson v Allen and Mobley
I truly think Allen wants the rematch. He has had to hear crap about not being physically up to Robinson three years ago. I want to see him attack this match up. Mobley is going to enjoy playing a big instead of a small forward.
Congrats the Cavs and DM especially . Over the hump!
So,they never trailed, right?
I don’t think so.
They may have been down a point or two, like 33-32 but I’m not sure.
Down a shot in the first couple of minutes only.
CAVALANCHE!
great!
Mitchell was fantastic. 0 TOs. JA, Sam, & Mobley also great.
Wow yall! I missed this one but wow! Starting the game now. Go Cavs
Do enjoy, JMay. It’s one of the better ones.
Best win of the season.
Amen–victory scotch in hand. Best–and maybe most complete. The assists were huge. The rebounding was a team effort. Allen and Mobley…we need this effort to beat the Knicks. Mitchell unstoppable, Harden smart, Merrill dead-eye, Strus and Wade locked on Cade…. never expected this.
This will end under 20.
Why has our third unit sucked so badly? Bryant looked like a third grader trying to make a layup.
Is 31 more or less than 20?
Quick TO from the 3rd unit.
It won’t matter today.
8 more wins for the ring. Fact.
I would not go full 3rd team, but starters out for sure.
Schröder, Sam, Wade, Tyson, + Bryant.
Yep.
yeah, putting the whole crew in at once is a bit harsh.
I knew Strus or Dennis were gonna get into it at some point.
Gonna need Tyson in next round. Give him a minute here to demonstrate he can keep his mouth shut and contribute
Not to mention playing on Tuesday
If we could shoot FTs, this would be 40.
Pistons have let go of the rope.
100%
So at this point I’m gonna suggest that DET played their game 7 a game early.
Go for a 50 point beat down
They would have if they could hit free throws.
“Let’s go Cavs!” cheer in the arena!
Kinda stunned they are almost at 30+ pts
Agreed
LOL my feed was lagging. Jumped to 33
Up 26 after 3.
Other than 5 on Mitchell and the FT shooting & whomever said no to that challenge, we have been excellent to off the charts.
Mitchell with 5. There’s something for me to worry about.
The way things are going, I expected that half court shot to go in.
Me, too.
Alright, close out strong.
5 on Mitchell due to KA stupidity.
Okay JH, take care of business (esp the ball).
Whatever Sam Merrill is on, I want some.
Sam the man!
JA
Jesus Wade fucking shoot that buddy.
That was Ben Simmons level bad.
Word.
Early TT slow gather territory.
JA flying out of the locker room like an AEW guest star, “That’s Jarret Allen music!”
Run it up boys!!!
JA
“As the fro flies”. Nice.
You just know he’d been workshopping that one for a while.
JA beast mode. Aside from the FTs.
Stewart. Thank you!
Bonkers. We’ll take it. Probably miss the FT but we’ll take it.
Allen like Beef Stew.
3 bad Harden possessions in the last couple minutes.
4 on Mitchell now. Sure would have helped to have challenged that previous one. Smdh.
That was boneheaded by KA.
Didn’t like that Mitchell 3 attempt.
4 on Mitchell.
Harden loose 2 times in a row
WTF, challenge that!
Donny getting a little silly.
WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU CHALLENGE THAT KENNY
For real wtf