Winners and Losers: Cavs vs Pistons Game 3 – James Harden comes up clutch

WINNER – Donovan Mitchell

I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say this entire Cavs team is built around the idea of Donovan Mitchell being one of the best playoff performers in the league. If you take that away, the Cavs aren’t a serious contender. But when he’s playing like the superhero we know and love? This team feels like it has a fighting chance. Mitchell web-slinged his way to 20 points on 8-12 shooting in the first half. He cooked in isolation, burning Duncan Robinson to a crisp with his step-back jumper. Then, moments after throwing an impressive alley oop to Evan Mobley, he worked his way downhill and dropped a dime to Allen in the dunker spot. This type of efficient scoring and processing speed as a playmaker is what we’ve been missing from Mitchell. He established himself as a threat and then used that against the defense to create opportunities for others. Spida finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.

LOSER – Offensive Rebounding

Detroit beat the Cavs 17-5 on the offensive glass. While that’s a problem, it wasn’t as glaring as it might have seemed. For further context, the Cavs were only outscored 19-11 on second-chance points. And, they somehow ended the game with more defensive rebounds than Detroit, winning that battle 28-23. So what happened? Well, the Pistons finished the game shooting 45% from the floor, and spent most of the day below that number. Meanwhile, the Cavs sat above 60% for a majority of the game and finished just below at 58%. The more shots you miss, the more offensive rebounds you have a chance to grab. The inverse is true, as well. That doesn’t make it okay. Of course, giving up nearly 20 offensive rebounds is what allowed the Pistons to creep back into this game and take a momentary lead in the fourth quarter. They might have shot 8-18 on those second-chances, which is a credit to the Cavaliers’ defense, but that’s still eight field goals that shouldn’t have gone in, and 18 attempts that should have never had a chance.

WINNER – James Harden

Can I take back everything I’ve ever said? Not really. The limitations in Harden’s style of play are still worth highlighting when he has games like the previous one in Detroit. But darn it, it looks great when he saves the day. Harden took full control of Cleveland’s offense in the closing minutes. He picked his poison, working for a mismatch and then dictating the rest of the possession with his on-ball creation. The results? A step-back jumper from the mid-range. Then a crossover into a floater. Finally, his patented three-point dagger. “You know who you are, keep being yourself,” said Donovan Mitchell on his trust in Harden after the game. “The outside world can turn on you like that, but if you watch [Harden’s] face or demeanor, you can’t tell if he’s playing well or shooting poorly.” We can talk about whether or not the Cavaliers’ offense needs to be more inclusive, or if Harden’s got enough gas in the tank to go the distance in a deep playoff run. But not tonight. Save that discussion for another day. Uno came through and put his team in a position to tie this series on Monday.

LOSER – The Starting Small Forward

The Cavs have an impossible decision to make. Worse, it’s a decision they’ve spent multiple years trying to solve. No matter what they try, it always feels like the wrong move. Max Strus competently filled the starting small forward spot for years. Though he always felt undersized as the Cavs moved deeper into the postseason. Package that with a matchup versus the Toronto Raptors in round one, and it’s no wonder the Cavs pivoted to Dean Wade. Only, Wade has given diminishing results as the playoffs go on. Wade looked great in Games 1-2 versus Toronto. He’s had scattered moments since. But the Raptors eventually stopped defending him. The Pistons haven’t even pretended to care about him. That’s cramped Cleveland’s spacing and effectively blunted any defensive impact Wade can offer. It went poorly the last time the Cavs tried adjusting this by starting Strus versus the Raptors in Game 5. Should that discourage them from trying it again? I’d say no, but I also think one can argue that Strus is better suited to being the sixth man than the starting forward. I think you could have argued that for years now. Not having a better option isn’t an indictment on Strus or Wade, to be clear. This is a roster construction issue that’s bigger than either of them. Wade is a fine eighth man. Strus can be electric, if not streaky, off the bench. The issue is that both players have been overextended by trying to fill a round hole as square pegs. Then there’s Jaylon Tyson, who many fans (including myself) have nominated for the job. He theoretically splits the difference between Wade and Strus. Just enough size to compete at the forward position, with just enough offensive skills to avoid being a detriment. But starting lineups are earned, not given. The Cavs aren’t going to grant Tyson the starting position because of what he *can do* on paper. This actually has to translate to something tangible. And so far, that hasn’t happened in a strong enough way to take a chance on a sophomore wing in his first playoff run. *Note:* *I wrote a decent chunk of this before Max Strus stole an inbound pass and went coast-to-coast during a pivotal junction of the fourth quarter. While I do not want to delete everything I wrote before, I would like to formally give Strus my recommendation for the starting job, and perhaps even a key to the city of Cleveland, if I have that authority (I don’t).*