{"id":1935121,"date":"2026-05-14T14:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1935121"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:00:04","slug":"the-bounce-cavs-look-serious-all-of-a-sudden-plus-how-do-the-76ers-improve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1935121","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: Cavs look serious all of a sudden. Plus, how do the 76ers improve?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong> \":basketball:\"<\/span> | This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have any games tonight! Both Game 6s in the East and West will be tomorrow. What should we do with our night off from the NBA? Celebrate the birthdays of Pooh Richardson, Voshon Leonard and Eddie House? Maybe! Or we can celebrate the Sacramento Kings, on this date in 1998, trading Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe for Chris Webber. It brought about the start of one of the best and most entertaining teams<\/a> that never won a title.<\/p>\n

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About last night<\/h3>\n

Cavs win on the road. Is Detroit done?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cleveland Cavaliers were having one of the weirdest postseasons we\u2019ve ever seen. They were 6-0 at home and 0-5 on the road. They looked like the team they were supposed to be at home. On the road? They were entirely unserious. I said as such in this very newsletter a few games ago.<\/p>\n

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Little did I know, the unserious call was coming from inside Little Caesars Arena. Because the Cavs finally broke through their winless streak on the road<\/a>, thanks to 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists from James Harden.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the prettiest 30-8-6 game we\u2019ve seen from him. He was only 8-of-21 from the field and 3-of-10 from deep with six turnovers. But he had three blocks, went 11-of-14 from the free-throw line and managed to lead the Cavs to a 117-113 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons. The Cavs now hold a 3-2 lead in the series and head back home, where they remain undefeated in the postseason.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Evan Mobley had his best game of the series with 19 points, eight boards and eight assists. Max Strus knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to 20 points off the bench. And they survived a subpar Donovan Mitchell night (21 points on 18 shots). Mostly, this was about how the Pistons continue to avoid being the 60-win team we saw all season long.<\/p>\n

Cade Cunningham had 39 points<\/a> on 13-of-27 from the field and 6-of-10 from deep. That, plus nine assists, would lead you to believe his Pistons won the game. But he had six more turnovers, bringing his total to 69 turnovers in 12 games. With the Cavs up three in the final moments of overtime, Harden missed a free throw and got his own rebound because Cunningham fell asleep on the rebound. These things just can\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

Even worse is the continued demise of Jalen Duren. He had nine points, five boards and four assists in 25 minutes, but the Pistons were markedly better with Paul Reed in the game. So much so that Duren did not play down the stretch and was benched for the entire overtime.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the loss, this was a string of texts from a friend of mine who is a Pistons fan:<\/p>\n