The Cavaliers will look to reduce turnovers and find an answer for Cade Cunningham in Game 2.
This Eastern Conference semifinals series, continuing with Game 2, could be determined not only by the best team, but also by the least reckless one.
The Detroit Pistons defined that first point by looking impressive for the first three quarters, and the Cleveland Cavaliers ran away with the second point with their abundance of turnovers, which proved costly in the end.
Both teams will arrive on Thursday at an early checkpoint, where the Cavs look to clean up mistakes and make necessary adjustments, while the Pistons hope to maintain home court advantage over a Cavs team still looking for a road win in these playoffs. Losing this game and falling behind 2-0 would put the Cavs in a tough spot, especially on the heels of a seven-game series against Toronto, which pushed them to the edge.
For the Pistons, to assume a 2-0 lead would put them in control and give them room for error heading to Cleveland this weekend. It would also demonstrate that Detroit learned lessons from its own seven-game opening round series against Orlando to show more of a commanding attitude this time with a series lead.
“Every possession matters,” said Pistons center Jalen Duren.
Here are three things to watch in Game 2 on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, Prime):
1. Allen and Mobley’s aggressiveness
The challenge was issued by the Pistons and specifically Duren in Game 1: Cleveland better bring the muscle, or else. Duren was too physically imposing for the Cavs’ front line and purchased all the pricey real estate around the rim. He grabbed all the important and tough rebounds, and in the fourth quarter, broke open a tie game with a pair of lightly contested dunks.
DUREN DUNK.
DUREN DUNK.
DUREN DUNK.Pistons up 7 with under 2 to play in Game 1! pic.twitter.com/NCrMjAy4z7
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2026
So the response from Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley will be most interesting, shedding light on their level of toughness, not only for Game 2 but perhaps beyond. This is especially important for Allen, who rarely positions himself beyond 10 feet from the rim. This is his domain, where he does most of his damage, but he possibly isn’t 100% healthy and hasn’t looked as much in these playoffs.
The problem is that Cleveland really doesn’t have a Plan B at center, at least no one good enough to command a decent amount of minutes against Duren without being exploited and exposed. Allen is a terrific rebounder, a good screen-and-roller with James Harden and a decent defender. He’ll need to avoid the kind of foul trouble that limited his Game 1 minutes while leveling up on the aggression, a fine line for sure.
It’s also important to note that Duren has 40 rebounds in his last three games against the Cavs.
2. Harris commands respect
The Pistons really lack a strong No. 2 scorer behind Cade Cunningham. Duren really isn’t that guy because he’s more of an opportunist who scores on second-chance opportunities or feeds from Cunningham; he’s not a creator off the dribble or spot-up shooter. Therefore, this vacancy has been filled and embraced by Tobias Harris. He damaged the Cavs with isolations in Game 1 and scored 20 points. Furthermore, Harris has sat in the shotgun seat all playoffs and delivered. He averaged 21 points in the first round and in his last six games has scored 20 or more.
This represents a leap from the regular season when his minutes and scoring (13 points) were lower. Harris is averaging 37 minutes over the last three games, two of them elimination games, up from 27 minutes during the regular season. It’s proof that Detroit is leaning on him more for scoring — the Pistons are running multiple plays for him — and also for rebounds.
So — how do the Cavs counter this? It might be time to put Mobley on Harris. There’s really no other Pistons player who requires so much attention, again, aside from Cunningham. Mobley is an elite defender and capable of guarding multiple positions. Harris is a streaky 3-point shooter and therefore Mobley wouldn’t need to check him tightly at the arc and risk getting beaten off the dribble. Harris damaged the Cavs mainly on post-ups and Mobley has the height and the frame to make those shots a lot tougher.
3. Which star steps up?
The Game 1 impact by Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell, the designated stars of this series, was marginal. Neither was it outstanding, nor was it reckless. They had moments, and that’s all, which is quite uncharacteristic because in wins and losses, these two, who’ll make All-NBA teams this season, are highly visible.
So maybe Game 2 will be decided on which one plays up to his resume, or beyond.
For Cunningham, the stakes are this: He’s the leader of the No. 1 seed, and therefore the demands are higher. Plus, much of what the Pistons do offensively runs through him. He dictates so much with his passing, his shooting and his decision-making. Rarely does something good happen without his involvement. He has scored 20 or more points here in his first 14 playoff games. That said, there’s a learning process, even for the greats, at each round of the playoffs. They all must walk through the fire first.
Mitchell is still trying to get beyond the semifinals in his career. He’s a tested and proven playoff performer with 50-pieces on his resume and clutch performances. Until he clears that hurdle, though, it’ll remain a storyline. And this year, he’ll need to beat the No. 1 seed to do that.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
