Cade vs Cleveland: The Fight for the East.

Written By: Kekoa O’Neil

Contributor | Sideline Society Media

Coming off impressive first round victories with the Cavaliers defeating the Raptors in game 7 on their home floor and the Pistons coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Orlando Magic, the two teams are slated to meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

You have two teams playing with completely different styles as the Pistons are a very physical team that rallies around their superstar guard Cade Cunningham. On the other hand, the Cavs rely heavily on the playmaking and shot creation of their two star guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. This is a huge series for Donovan Mitchell specifically because he has never advanced past the second round in his NBA career thus far.

With Detroit having a physical style of play it’s going to be up to the front court of the Cavaliers in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to match the physicality of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. Something to look out for in this series along with this, will be the ability of Harden and Mitchell to get in the paint and create 2 on 1 scenarios to either throw it to their bigs for a lob or kick it out to some of their three point shooters such as Max Strus and Sam Merrill.

It will also be interesting to see who the Pistons elect to put star defensive player Ausar Thompson on as he has proven all playoffs thus far to be someone who can disrupt the rhythm and make it difficult for the other teams’ star players. While I do think the Cavs will put up a fight in this series, I ultimately see the Detroit Pistons coming out on top and moving on to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2008.

The physical play of the Pistons will be too much for the Cavs to overcome as they have proven to be turnover heavy this playoffs.

I do see the Cavs stealing a couple games on their home floor but ultimately Detroit will prevail and win 4-2.