NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Sunday, 3:05 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -10.5, Total: 201.0

The Pistons will be looking to steal a Game 1 victory when they face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday.

The Pistons were able to grab the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and they’ll now be hoping to upset the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. Detroit just might be feeling optimistic about its chances, as the team defeated Cleveland in three of the four meetings in this regular season head-to-head series. One of those games was the final game of the regular season for each team and most of the starters were resting for both the Cavaliers and Pistons. Detroit was 3-1 ATS in those four contests and the team will now look to win on a stage that actually matters. For the Cavaliers, losing is really not an option. This is a championship or bust year for the team and the Cavaliers know that. One interesting trend in this game is that Detroit is 23-7 ATS after a division game under Stan Van Gundy. The Cavaliers are, however, 10-2 ATS when revenging a loss where an opponent scored 100 points or more this season. They’re also playing a Detroit team that is 5-14 ATS in road games after playing on the road this season. PG Reggie Jackson (Abdominal) is a bit banged up heading into this one, but he will be on the court for the Pistons. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, could be without PG Mo Williams (Knee). He is listed as questionable for the team, but his absence wouldn’t necessarily hurt Cleveland’s chances in this contest.

The Pistons played well against the Cavaliers in the regular season, but the playoffs are a whole different animal. Cleveland is out for an NBA championship, so Detroit will be playing a team that is super locked in on Sunday. One thing the Pistons have working in their favor is that they are much stronger at the center position. C Andre Drummond (16.2 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG) should really be able to have his way inside in this series. Nobody on Cleveland has the combination of size and athleticism that he possesses, so he’ll need to be extremely aggressive. In three meetings with the Cavs, Drummond averaged 20.3 PPG and 13.7 RPG in the regular season. He may need to do even more the rest of this series. Another guy that should be in for a big series is PG Reggie Jackson (18.8 PPG, 6.6 APG). Kyrie Irving is not a very good defender, so Jackson should be able to find plenty of success in this one. He’s a good shooter from the outside and also gets himself to the rim with his ability to change speeds well. If he can hold his own defensively then it’d also be big for Detroit. The x-factor for the Pistons will, however, be SF Tobias Harris (14.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG). Harris is a very solid offensively player and knows how to score both inside and outside. His ability to score will not be questioned in this series, but he will need to defend at a high level. Harris will likely be matched up with LeBron James and the Pistons have no chance of winning on Sunday if Harris can’t hold his own defensively. It’s impossible to completely shut down James, but Harris would be doing his job if he can just slow him down a little.

SF LeBron James (25.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.4 SPG) and the Cavaliers coasted through the regular season and will now be looking to defeat the Pistons in the opening round of the playoffs. James had some trouble with this team during the year, averaging just 20.7 PPG on 41.8% shooting from the field in three meetings with Detroit this season. James must do his best to get to the basket in this one, as he needs to be efficient this series. He is at his best around the rim and can’t afford to just settle for jumpers on Sunday. If the Cavs are going to ultimately go as far as they hope then PG Kyrie Irving (19.6 PPG, 4.7 APG, 1.1 SPG) and PF Kevin Love (16.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG) will need to bring their games to another level. Irving has a tough matchup with Reggie Jackson in this series, but he is a lot quicker than the Pistons’ guard and should be able to blow by him often. Irving is also a very good shooter from the outside and that will come in handy when James is looking to kick the ball out to his teammates. Love is also an excellent shooter and he’ll need to be ready to make some shots in catch-and-shoot situations. He’s also, however, a very good player around the basket. The Pistons are not very good at defending the power forward position, so the Cavaliers would be wise to get Love some opportunities in the post this series. One guy that could be a huge x-factor for the Cavaliers is SG J.R. Smith (12.4 PPG, 1.1 SPG). Smith is one of the best shooters in the NBA and he has the ability to get really hot from deep. He can swing any series if he is knocking down shots and there’s no reason to believe he won’t.