Playoff Victory, Cade Masterclass, and Isaiah Stewart's Knee | The Weekly Drive
Up until last night, the Pistons had not won a playoff game since 2008.
Good afternoon Pistons fans, and welcome back to the Weekly Drive. After a holiday weekend, a bout of sickness, jury duty, and some playoff basketball watching, I'm back. You didn’t think I would miss the week in which the Pistons won their first playoff game since 2008, did you?
No, of course not. Let’s get into it.
Game Recaps
Eastern Conference Playoffs - First Round
Game 1: Detroit 112, New York 123
Rapid Detail: The Knicks erased a 15-point deficit to stun the Pistons, who showed their age in a turnover-filled final quarter. But the first three quarters were a masterclass from a Detroit team that was winning big despite not even playing well themselves. The Knicks took advantage, and had the series advantage 1-0 as a result. Key word: had.
Game 2: Detroit 100, New York 94
Rapid Detail: Detroit, once again, had a comfortable arms-length lead for most of the game (including the same eight-point lead after three quarters) and nearly blew it. But they clamped down and did not allow the Knicks to get in their head like Game 1, and the end result is Detroit stealing home court advantage. Cade Cunningham was masterful with 33 points and 12 rebounds in 42 minutes of action.
The Last Time the Pistons won a Playoff Game…
Does anybody like the media schtick where we compare prices of things from one event to another? I don’t care about gas and egg prices at the time, because I did not even have my license yet…
Well, the last time the Pistons won a playoff game:
George Bush was President of the United States
The iPhone was less than a year old
The top song on the music charts was Lollipop by Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major
The highest grossing movie on that day was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (a terrible, terrible movie)
The first Iron Man was still in theaters too, which is even crazier to me
Isaiah Stewart’s Knee
Cade may be the best player on the Pistons, but their heart and soul is Isaiah Stewart. Detroit may not have their venerable fireball forward as he battles knee inflammation, which kept him out of Game 2. Stewart does not always pop off the box score, but he makes things happen on the court with energy, smart plays, and hustle. Turns out he doesn’t have to develop a three-pointer to be playable, like some were monitoring for.
The Pistons, as they just showed, do not need Stewart to win games. But it would help a great deal if they did, as its unfair to assume Cunningham will drop a 30-point double-double every night either.
Tobias Harris is Critical
Remember when Philadelphia 76ers fans were laughing at those who said Tobias Harris in Detroit was a good move? I do, quite well.
Harris is flawed, not flashy, and does not have a high ceiling, but he fits well as a secondary scorer - especially with Jaden Ivey not available. That was demonstrated in Game 1, in which Harris scored 25 points on 8-13 shooting. That helped ease some pressure off Cunningham, who struggled. The Pistons may have lost, but they would not have been in the position they were in without Harris.
Even in Game 2, Harris’ 15 points and 13 rebounds helped him to a +/- of +8, which was second-highest on the team. He helps win games, or at the very least, stay in them. The Pistons did not have that level of veteran stability last year. Now they do.
There is a good argument to make that the Detroit-New York first round series is the best in the league, though Clippers-Nuggets is tough to pick against. Regardless, this is going to be a dogfight of a series for the Pistons. Now, the series swings back to Detroit for the next two games, where the Pistons can put the Knicks on the brink of elimination with the home crowd behind them.
Pretty cool? Yeah, pretty cool. See you next week.
Mike