Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons struggled in overtime against the Cleveland Cavaliers, highlighting the team's reliance on star players. The Pistons faced a challenging playoff situation, with key players unavailable.
Key points
Cade Cunningham is a key player for the Pistons.
The Pistons faced the Cavaliers in a playoff overtime game.
The last overtime playoff game for the Pistons was 19 years ago.
James Harden blocked a shot during the game.
Key Pistons players were unavailable during the game.
Detroit PistonsCleveland CavaliersCade CunninghamJames Harden
Itās not fair to expect any man to be perfect, and Cade Cunningham is no exception. The problem so far in these maddening playoffs is that, when heās not perfect, his teamās imperfections become glaring.
Here were the Detroit Pistons in uncharted waters on Wednesday, May 13 ā overtime waters, and their boat had sprung a leak. The last time this franchise saw an overtime playoff game was 19 years ago, when most of the current players were still sucking their thumbs. So perhaps they didnāt realize this: In such moments, you traditionally rely on your stars to win it.
Instead, the Pistons were watching their third-string center getting blocked and their backup point guard miss a 3-pointer and another backup guard miss another 3-pointer, while their starting center sat on the bench and their starting shooting guard was in street clothes.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) blocks Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) shot during the second half of game 5 of the NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) blocks Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) shot during the second half of game 5 of the NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
And then Cunningham, already fatigued from dropping 37 points in regulation and being consistently double-teamed, made two you-canāt-do-that errors: He lost the ball on a careless handle, which turned into a Cleveland layup, and he failed to box out James Harden on a free throw, resulting in a Harden offensive board, precious seconds off the clock and a foul that put two more Harden free throws on the board.
Q&A
Why did the Detroit Pistons struggle in overtime against the Cavaliers?
The Pistons struggled in overtime due to the absence of key starters and reliance on backup players who failed to perform.
When was the last time the Pistons played in an overtime playoff game?
The last time the Pistons played in an overtime playoff game was 19 years ago.
Who were the standout players for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoff game?
James Harden was a standout player for the Cavaliers, contributing significantly in the game against the Pistons.
What impact did Cade Cunningham's performance have on the Pistons' playoff chances?
Cade Cunningham's performance was critical, but his imperfections highlighted the team's overall struggles and lack of depth.
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In a five-minute overtime period, thatās enough to swing the game.
āTurning over the ball over in overtime. ā¦ I wish I could have that play back for sure,ā Cunningham said. āThereās a lot of plays I wish I could take back. But itās basketball. Itās an imperfect game.ā
Right. And Cunningham rises to the challenge way more than he stumbles. But when he does, when the Pistons need someone else to be perfect, they are like Tony Bennett singing that old song: Who can I turn to?
Back to backs to the wall.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) warms up before the Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) warms up before Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) warms up before Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons fan Sean Fowler cheers on as he watches warm up before Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons hosts Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons guard Caris LeVert (8) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons fans cheer on as they watch warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) warms up before the Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) warms up before Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
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Detroit Pistons fans cheer on as they watch warms up ahead of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
āWe aint supposed to lose a lead like that, man,ā bemoaned Daniss Jenkins, who made his first career playoff start in place of the injured Duncan Robinson and acquitted himself nicely, with 19 points, three assists, two steals and a block. āWe werenāt supposed to go to overtime. ā¦ [When youāve] got that type of lead in the playoffs, we knew what game this was, how important it was. We canāt lose that lead. We gotta be better.ā
He's talking about the Pistons being up, at home, 103-94 with three minutes to go and the crowd on its feet. Here is what happened between that moment and the regulation buzzer:
The Pistons gave up an offensive rebound that led to a basket, missed a jumper, missed a 3-pointer, gave up a dunk, had a shot blocked, had a shot clock violation, gave up a 3-pointer, missed another 3-pointer, fouled to give up two free throws, missed two more shots, had another shot clock violation, blocked a shot and got fouled in the final seconds ā but didnāt get the call.
That reads like a script of "The Bad News Basketball Bears," not a formula for winning a critical playoff game. That down-the-stretch failure, like firecracker smoke, lingered into the overtime, where Detroit gave up too many shots, missed too many of their own, and Cunningham made those two mistakes and didnāt score until 26 seconds were left.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) gets ready for a play against Cleveland Cavaliers during overtime of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) gets ready for a play against Cleveland Cavaliers during overtime of Game 5 of second round of NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
Now, by contrast, consider the Cavaliers, who had a wildly imperfect night themselves ā allowing 20 points off turnovers in the first half. No matter. The team that hadnāt won a road playoff game this postseason got its act together when it counted.
The Cavs scored the last nine points in regulation to force overtime. And who did those points come from? Donovan Mitchell, a perennial All-Star, and Evan Mobley, an All-Star and last season's Defensive Player of the Year, with assists from Harden, who, oh yeah, is going to the Hall of Fame.
Then, in overtime, Mitchell scored seven points, Harden had three, Mobley had two. Thatās 12 points from your All-Stars (and starters). Cunningham, in the same stretch, had two points while the rest of the Pistons' scoring, what little there was, came from the backups.
āWhen they start doubling Cade, whatās the challenge of finding another reliable source of offense?ā someone asked coach J.B. Bickerstaff after the loss.
āWeāve got our spots,ā he said. āWe know where to put the ball. When they do double-teaming ā¦ now youāre playing advantage basketball. So we got to take advantage of it.ā
The problem is, they havenāt. When Cunningham gets doubled, heās often forced into bad passes, or he throws to the ball to one of several less-than-desirable options, such as Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson, neither of whom seem to have any inclination to score. Too often the ball ends up swinging back to Cunningham because no one else can either get a worthwhile shot or feels confident enough to take it.
Jalen Duren, missing in action
This brings us to the giant in the room. Duren, at 6 feet 10, is clearly a physical talent. But letās just say it. He has, to this point in the playoffs, gone AWOL. He had nine points and five rebounds in Game 5. He sat the entire fourth quarter and overtime. And it wasnāt because of foul trouble.
This is the guy who a month ago, when Bickerstaff was asked what heād say to critics who claimed the Pistons didnāt have a No. 2 option said, āIād say Jalen Duren is a hell of a player.ā
He may have been in January. He hasnāt been in May. A guy who averaged 20 points a game in earning an All-Star nod is averaging half of that in the postseason and looks timid, fumbling and unsure of himself when he gets the ball. He was asked after Game 5 if he was frustrated sitting on the bench during all that crunch time (in favor of third-string center Paul Reed). Duren said, āMy brothers handled it. [Reed] came in ready to go, did his thing. As long as we get the win. ā¦ā
But they didnāt get the win. And personally, Iād like it more if Duren were fuming at himself that he was on the bench. Heās the starting center. Heās getting outplayed every night. Heās losing minutes. Heās losing confidence.
Itās nice that everybody keeps saying, āHeās only 22 years oldā and thatās true. But so is Victor Wembanyama. Chronological age doesnāt mean the same thing in this league. Duren is only in his fourth NBA season. So are Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams. If Duren is old enough to be vying for a five-year, $240 million max contract, heās old enough to handle whatās facing him now.
So far itās handling him.
Back to backs to the wall.
No more surprises left, on either side
āWeāre not going to go down without a fight,āā Bickerstaff said of the looming Game 6 on Friday night in Cleveland, where the Pistons are yet to win in this series. āWeāre not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing, and thatās just who we are.
āWeāve been in this position beforeā
Thatās true. And attention must be paid to the fact that Detroit was down 3-1 in its previous series, against the Orlando Magic, and won three straight. That muscle memory will serve the Pistons well.
But after five games of this series ā or any NBA playoff series, really ā the other team feels like relatives who have stayed past Christmas and are now approaching Valentineās Day. Youāre as tired of them as they are of you. You can smell them coming. You can finish their sentences.
The Cavaliers have figured out that if they double Cunningham, the Pistons are woefully short on options, especially if Tobias Harris is anything less than stellar. (He went 6-for-19 Wednesday and missed several key shots down the stretch.) Theyāve also figured out that you can beat Detroit if you draw defenders by driving the paint then whip the ball around the perimeter enough to find open 3-point shooters ā something Cleveland has done painfully well in its victories, particularly with the annoying Max Strus, who hit six baskets in Game 5, all of them treys. Six? They were killers.
āHow do you prevent that?ā someone asked Thompson, Detroitās best defender.
āNot overact to certain peoples drives,ā he said, as if reciting a playbook, āknow where the shooters are, stay attached, and not let other people be X-factors for them.ā
It sounds so easy. But as Tom Hanks said of baseball in āA League of Their Own,ā it if were that easy, everyone would be doing it.
Hereās the bottom line. The Cavs did something in Game 5 they hadnāt done all postseason ā win on the road ā and now the Pistons have to do something theyāve done three times in this postseason: stave off elimination.
To do so, they will have to pull a big tarp over the glaring hole in their boat: That Cunningham does not have a Harden or a Mitchell or Mobley to boost him, and that his regular season wingman, Duren, is, so far, flying at a lower altitude.
They live on their defense? Then make sure it isnāt fooled into allowing open 3-point shooters. They want to own the possession game? Donāt throw the ball away on ill-advised passes or dribble protection.
And, as unfair as it is, if the job calls for perfection, and thereās no wiggle room, then, sorry to say this, Mr. Cunningham, you didnāt have much choice.
āTheyāre going to have to choke the life out of this team,ā Bickerstaff warned. He was talking about the Cavs. But itās the Pistons doing it to themselves that you worry about.
Back to backs to the wall.
Contact Mitch Albom:Ā malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events atĀ MitchAlbom.com. Follow @mitchalbomĀ on x.com.