Bullet point summary by AI

• The Detroit Pistons face elimination after losing three straight games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.
• Jalen Duren, their second option, has collapsed in the postseason, averaging just 10 points and shooting 50 percent after an All-Star regular season.
• Cade Cunningham’s costly turnovers and a lack of reliable creators around him leave Detroit’s offense vulnerable as they prepare for Game 6.

After snagging the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with just the third 60-win season in franchise history, Detroit is finding out how different regular season and playoff basketball are.

Detroit escaped an ugly seven-game rock fight with the Orlando Magic in a 1-8 matchup that saw the Pistons down 3-1. Detroit’s MVP-caliber player, Cade Cunningham, and their unexpected second option, Tobias Harris, stepped it up to take that one home. Orlando’s Franz Wagner missing the final stretch of the series, didn’t hurt either.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won three straight games and have a chance to end Detroit’s season Friday night. How did the Pistons get here, with their backs against the wall again? They had a historic defense and one of the best players in our sport leading the way but they’re finding out that that is not enough.

Jalen Duren has gone missing

Harris holding it down as the second option says more about Jalen Duren than the 15-year vet. Harris should not be this team’s second option, but here we are.

After an All-Star and All-NBA worthy season, Duren has been a shell of himself. There were schematic things Orlando did that made me think that series would be a one-time thing. Orlando had massive bodies and took away Duren’s roll to the rim, sending extra help at his short-rolls and daring the Pistons’ outside shooters to beat them.

The Cavaliers are doing that with the thinner Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Both of those are lengthy bigs, but they don’t have the girth to handle Duren — in theory. But that’s why we play the games. The on-paper stuff means zilch when Duren is not being aggressive whatsoever.

Duren averaged nearly 20 points and 11 boards in his All-Star campaign while shooting 65 percent from the field. His playoff collapse is not being exaggerated. He is down to 10 points, eight boards, with a 50 field goal percentage. He was the second-option all year. Duren faced up, took bigs off the bounce, caught every lob and was active defensively.

All of that has evaporated during Detroit’s run and the Pistons have been better with Paul Reed on the floor against Cleveland. Reed only played in the fourth quarter and overtime Wednesday night, and Detroit was even in his 17 minutes. They were minus-16 in Duren’s 25 minutes.

I’ve gone to bat for Duren during these playoffs, speaking on his long-term future. He has major warts that are concerning (shooting, effort when not scoring), but he is only 22. You don’t throw him away after a terrible playoff run. That said, if JB Bickerstaff wants any chance of advancing, Reed will be first off the bench or maybe even a starter in Game 6.

Cade Cunningham shares some blame

Duren not being himself forces Cunningham and others to do more. Cunningham tried to will Detroit in Game 5, but he had some costly blunders in his 39-point showcase.

The turnovers. Cunningham has more turnover than any player over their first 18 playoff games. Some are passes where he’s trying to get his teammates involved. Understandable. Letting Max Strus pick your pockets in the clutch while the Pistons are on a semi-run is inexcusable.

Cunningham has to be better in that department. It’s that simple. Eight-second violations at this level are not acceptable. On the flip side, the Pistons team build does lean into this one-man show type of basketball. Cunningham indeed needs more confident creators around him, but the lackadaisical turnovers have been a thing dating back to his rookie season.

Cunningham’s turnover rate among point guards was a career best this year (13.1 percent, 46th percentile) per Cleaning The Glass. He has made strides in that department, but these playoffs are reminding us of his Achilles heel. If there were more around Cunningham’s offense, this could look different.

No true second option

Even if Duren were at his absolute apex, the ball handling around Cunningham would still be a gigantic question mark. Harris has played over his head this run. You cannot ask for more from him. Daniss Jenkins is the squad’s backup PG. He has his moments, but does not strike fear into defenses.

Duncan Robinson has shooting gravity but virtually no on-ball juice in a playoff setting. Ausar Thompson is so insane defensively that he will win a DPOY in the Victor Wemanyama era. But he doesn’t always look to score, and that hurts the Pistons’ spacing. Thompson can function as a secondary ball handler, but he would be more impactful there if he were a threat to score. Keep working twin, you’re the second most impactful Piston and an all-world defender. An offensive leap (even just slashing like Amen) would change his trajectory from an All-Defense to an All-NBA ceiling.

Detroit has to find a way to get creators around Cunningham. He is a point guard, but the put-everything-on-him basketball Detroit plays is not sustainable. Even if Detroit responds with their backs against the wall again in Cleveland, there are clear flaws they need to address this offseason.

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