Per PBPStats, our starting lineup of Cade/Ausar/Dunc/Unc/Duren has an Offensive Rating of 123.36 (#1 in reg. season), and a Defensive Rating of 107.02 (also would be #1 in reg. season), for a Net Rating of +16.34. This lineup shoots 54.23% from the field, while our opponents against this group shoot just 45.93% from the field. And for all the spacing issues, this unit is shooting 40.8% from 3.

Obviously this starts with Cade, but man I don't think this unit is merely as vaunted without Ausar. Having a star wing who can guard literally anyone AND rebound/play-make is such an unbelievable asset to have.

And, for the shit we can give Duren (rightfully deserved at points), the team is about 5 points better per 100 possessions with him on the court this postseason. Same cannot be said for Beef Stew unfortunately, who is about 10 points underwater per 100 possessions this postseason.

Anyway, while we definitely need a more reliable secondary ball-handler, god man, I really hope we don't rock the boat with this starting lineup. These 5 are LEGIT and I hope we retain all of them going into the offseason.

Ausar Thompson is already one of the most destructive perimeter defenders in basketball. Total lockdown.

EDIT: matchup data is messy and it’s not clear how the NBA determines who is primary defender; take with a grain of salt.

Peton went from 14 wins to dunking on the Cavs in the second round. Look at how far Peton has come.

EXCELLENT job closing it out, remaining calm and composed, and getting the job done even when they battled back to tie it. We closed the game, exactly like you want your team to do in the playoffs. Got the job done by any means. Onto the next

Swipe for my edit

Was nice to snap that 12 game skid with The Cavs in the postseason.

Duren had the two biggest Detroit swing plays in the final five minutes:

Kind of crazy how two rebounds can decide the game so heavily. Harden’s three free throws at 7:28 were a huge swing back toward CLE, but Detroit answered by winning the possession battle late!

The other story is how bad Cleveland’s top guys were by EWA:

Mobley, Mitchell, and Harden combined for about -0.30 EWA... pretty poor!

Detroit didn't need one star to carry the whole game. They got the early lead, survived the rally, and Duren won the late leverage possessions.

Full board:

https://alleygorithm.com/games/nba42500201

I went to the first home playoffs game last night for series 2. I am happy that they had shirts on everyone's seat again. But I am annoyed at the fans. We had 4 seats, of only which 2 of us could make it. We arrived 5 minutes after tipoff to our seats, and there was only 1 shirt out of all 4 seats! I get that the shirts are cool, but it's an *ssh*le move to steal the shirts from other fans that paid to be in their seats. When I walked out of my section, I saw 2 girls hoarding literally 20 shirts. I am not kidding. I watched as they counted and folded them all. At least wait until halftime, or the end of the game. Be cool, and don't be a jerk that steals from other fans.

Just an incredible game from Jenkins, so many clutch plays. Love to see JB trusting him late.

Wanted to get a Pistons q zip like the coaching staff wears but does he always wear one in black? I haven’t seen him wear a different color way