There is home-court advantage in the NBA, and then there is HOME-COURT advantage. The latter applies to playing in Rocket Arena, says Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell.
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals because they went 4-0 at home in their first-round series with the Toronto Raptors. They lost twice in Detroit in the second round. They faded late in the fourth quarter in both games.
The series moved to Rocket Arena for Game 3 on May 9, and instead of being outplayed in the final five minutes, the Cavs outplayed the Pistons to win, 116-109, in a game they trailed, 101-100, with less than five minutes to play. Mitchell credited the fans for supporting the Cavs in the most crucial moments. He wants to see the same support May 11, when the Cavs try to even the series at 2-2 before playing Game 5 on May 13 in Detroit.
“It’s always great to have the home crowd on your side,” Mitchell said. “I always talk about protecting home-court. They (the fans) are a big reason why.
“Every team feels this way, but I feel like in Cleveland, they’re just so hungry for wins. You feel that energy. We’re still down, 2-1. We still have to protect home-court, but to play in front of these fans is a privilege and an honor. You feel the energy and buzz in the city. They show out every single night.”
The Cavaliers will have to win at least one game at Little Caesars Arena to eliminate the Pistons because Detroit has home-court advantage in the series by virtue of finishing first in the East in the regular season. The Cavs can worry about that later.
For now, there are things Coach Kenny Atkinson wants to clean up so Game 4 doesn’t come down to the last two minutes. Specifically, he wants to get Jarrett Allen (7-for-9, 18 points in 32 minutes) and Evan Mobley (4-for-6, 13 points in 36 minutes) more involved in the offense.
“We aren’t rewarding those guys enough,” Atkinson said. “I want the open 3s, no doubt, but there were probably five (in Game 3) where it was, ‘Man, get to the rim. Throw it to our big guys.’ We have to shift our offensive mentality a little bit going forward in this series.”
Atkinson has said this before, but talking about it hasn’t changed much; he wants his players to be hungrier going after rebounds.
The Pistons outrebounded the Cavaliers, 40-33, in Game 3. The Pistons had 17 offensive rebounds compared to five offensive rebounds by the Cavaliers. That led to more second-chance opportunities for Detroit.
The Pistons attempted 91 shots in Game 3 compared to 74 by the Cavaliers. That is not Atkinson’s blueprint for success.
“It’s really hard to win in this league with that disparity,” Atkinson said. “It’s a little lucky on our part. Rebounding is a big part of the possession game. We can’t have another game where we’re losing the possession game by 14. That’s not sustainable.”
The Cavs were fortunate that Cade Cunningham, “the head of the snake” for the Pistons, to use Mitchell’s colorful description, hit just 10 of the 27 shots he took in Game 3.
The Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen goes to the basket against the Pistons on May 9. (Tim Phillis – For The News-Herald)
Pistons at Cavaliers
What: Eastern Conference semifinals, Game 4; Pistons lead, 2-1
When: 8 p.m., May 11
Where: Rocket Arena
TV: WKYC