Big three lead the way to 3-0: Cavs-Pistons, Behind the Box Score
April 22, 2016We’re Not Detroit!: Cavs-Pistons, Behind the Box Score
April 25, 2016Outside of the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers have won the first three games of their series against Detroit, and are going for the sweep Sunday night, the Pistons mouths, specifically their comments behind closed doors, have been one of the biggest storylines thus far.
Whether it’s rookie Stanley Johnson trying his best to get in the heads of Cavs star LeBron James’, forward Marcus Morris following suit, or Andre Drummond lobbing elbows to head and neck regions of No. 23 (including one to James’ neck in Game 3), the Pistons seem to be more worried about non-basketball things than actually winning a game in this best-of-seven game series.
Johnson, who at 19 is closer to LeBron James Jr.’s age than James himself, came out swinging following Game 1, but has seen his minutes decrease ever since. Keep in mind Johnson averaged just 8.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game in 73 games (six starts) during the regular season. So far this series, he has averaged 9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in just 17.3 minutes per game. If the rookie wanted to (finally) become relevant in the NBA, he has done just that, but not because of his game.
Stanley Johnson on LeBron: "I'm definitely in his head. That's for sure."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 21, 2016
Stanley Johnson on LeBron: "I wish he would just talk when [the game] is 0-0, not when he's up 16."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 21, 2016
Johnson on LBJ/Cavs: "He jabbers. He moves his mouth sometimes. Their whole team does, kind of like their little cheerleaders on the bench."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 21, 2016
If “in his head” means that James is dominating the young rook’, then yes, Johnson is definitely in his head. In fact, in the first two games of the series in Cleveland, James shot very well, but even more so when the rookie was guarding him.
LeBron has 15 points on 7-9 FG with Stanley Johnson as his primary defender this series (13 Pts, 6-6 FG in Game 2). https://t.co/Ns3td71YBX
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 21, 2016
Although forward James Jones hasn’t played much this series, he has plenty of playoff experience, whether it be in 2015 with the Cavaliers or in Miami with James prior to coming to Cleveland. The sharpshooter admitted that winning games is more important than winning arguments, as told to cleveland.com’s Chris Haynes.
“It’s basketball. We don’t get paid to talk. We don’t get paid to entertain. We get paid to play basketball. That’s our job. At the end of the day, we want to win basketball games, we don’t want to win arguments.”
The game is going to be determined by your actions and what you do on the floor and not what you say. You know, different people use different methods and tools to prepare and get themselves ready to go, but we’re focused on the game. We’re focused strictly on the Xs and Os.”
Much to Detroit’s chagrin, this isn’t James’ or the Cavs’ first dalliance with a lesser opponent in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The wine and gold are smart enough to know that Detroit, while they cannot win a game, are doing all of these non-basketball things to try and get in the Cavaliers’ heads. Much like the Boston series a year ago, James has mentioned that he will make sure his team stays focused on winning the basketball game, not everything else that Detroit is trying to do, per Haynes:
“I’m the last person that will allow physical play to go to the other side. I know how much I mean to my team and I understand what this is all about. I will make sure that our guys understand that we’re here to play basketball. Everything else is irrelevant. We want to play physical, we want to get up into those guys, make it tough on them, but like I said, the game is played in between the four lines.
“So if they’re hurting our guys, we’re not going to go out there and hurt no one else, but we’re going to make sure that when they attack the rim, nothing easy around the basket. I’m not saying intentionally fouling anyone, but just making sure it’s a hard foul.”
While their goal remains to win 16 games this postseason, one of the younger players on the team, Tristan Thompson, has made it known that the Cavs will not back down, especially if a Cavalier is hurt from all of this Detroit nonsense that has nothing to do with the final score. This year’s Cavs team may not have an “enforcer”-type player like Kendrick Perkins from last season, but as a team, that will stick up for each other.
Heading into Game 4 Sunday night, head coach Tyrron Lue has made it clear to his players to not get caught up in everything that Detroit has done so far this series. Whether it be with their mouths or elbows, the Pistons continue to try and get in the Cavaliers’ heads, and Lue knows that his players must keep their composure and continue to win games and not worry about all the other stuff, per cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
“They’re going to try to junk the game up as much as possible and we have to keep our heads and keep playing. We can’t get caught up in all the roughhousing and if we get a couple of bad calls here and there we have to continue to play through it.”
If anything, all of this nonsense from the Pistons has actually brought the Cavaliers. The Pistons are trying to bring back the “Bad Boys” era, but there is one difference between that former team and the 2016 version: The current players can’t win a playoff game. They will continue to bark, but that noise could come to an end Sunday night if the Cavaliers pull off a sweep on the road.
4 Comments
Have each other’s back like Irving and Love slapping hands with Drummond after the game by the locker room? Sorry stuff like that bothers me.
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Reminds me of Kent Bazemore last year when the Cavs swept the Hawks.
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