CLEVELAND — Maybe it had to be this way. The Cavaliers have been chasing LeBron James’ ghost since he departed Cleveland a second time, so maybe it’s only right they finally get to go first for once.
The Cavs and the Los Angeles Lakers have been on the same track, playing on the same nights, throughout the conference semifinals. The series between the Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons has been the lead-in to the Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder series throughout the NBA’s second round.
The Cavs have enjoyed a much better go of it than the Lakers, who were swept Tuesday in what was perhaps the final game of James’ brilliant career. The Cavs evened their series with the Pistons thanks to Donovan Mitchell’s historic second half in a 112-103 Game 4 victory that wasn’t really that close. Mitchell, James Harden and the Cavaliers are two wins from the Eastern Conference finals, which didn’t seem all that likely after two fairly clumsy losses on the road to start this series.
Cleveland will eventually have to win a game in Detroit to advance, but even tying this series 2-2 is noteworthy. This is the closest the Cavs have come to reaching a conference finals without James on the roster since 1992. They made it to this round in each of the last two seasons and were down 3-1 in both instances. Both years, the Cavs’ season ended in five games.
Mitchell’s incredible second half on Tuesday assured this series will go at least six games. He has admirably filled the leadership void within this organization following James’ departure, but hasn’t been able to match James’ postseason success. His 39-point eruption in the second half is something that not even James has accomplished. It tied a mark set by the Golden State Warriors’ Eric “Sleepy” Floyd in 1987 for the most points in a half of a postseason game.
“Incredible performance,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “What a shift, right? Really struggled in the first half. Big-time second-half performance.”
The Cavs have needed the best version of Mitchell during these two home games to fight back in this series, and he has delivered. He shot 1 of 8 in the first half on Tuesday and seemed to struggle getting past defenders. Atkinson implored his team to start playing faster in the second half, and it loosened Detroit’s smothering defense while creating more driving lanes for Mitchell, who was the key reason why the Cavs scored the first 22 points of the third quarter to take control.
Detroit’s physical, half-court defense has caused problems for the Cavs (particularly Mitchell and Harden) at various points in this series. The solution was to play faster and create easy looks in transition before the Pistons could set their schemes. The result was Mitchell making more trips to the free-throw line (15) than the entire Pistons roster (12).
Both Atkinson and Mitchell were vocal early in this series about the disparity in free-throw shooting. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes it had an impact.
“Ever since we came to Cleveland,” Bickerstaff said, “the whistle has changed.”
Bickerstaff will likely be fined for his comments, and he likely won’t care. He has never been shy about going after officials, dating back to his days as Cleveland’s coach, and it will be interesting to see if the whistle shifts back Detroit’s way as the series moves there Wednesday night.
As for the Cavs, this is what they envisioned by pairing Mitchell and Harden. It hasn’t always been pretty, but on nights when Harden’s handle is tight and Mitchell is getting to the basket, the Cavs are the better team in this series. The duo combined for 67 points, 11 assists and only three turnovers Monday, and the Pistons simply can’t match the Cavs’ scoring punch, particularly when Cade Cunningham is struggling as he has in this series. For all the matchup problems Cunningham can cause opponents, the Cavs seem to have the right combination of defenders to make life difficult on him.
As the league narrows its focus on turnovers and offensive rebounds as ways to create extra possessions, the Pistons have dominated the Cavs in both categories for most of the series. That’s why winning the turnover battle and essentially playing the Pistons to a draw on the offensive glass in Game 4 was so crucial.
Now it’s time for the Cavs to win on the road, something they’ve been unable to do throughout this postseason. Mitchell’s home numbers over the last few years are markedly better in the playoffs than on the road, and Harden looked like a different player in these two games at home compared to the fumbling, aging star who couldn’t stop turning the ball over in Detroit.
As for James, his season ended a few hours after the Cavs’ latest victory. He missed a contested floater in the lane, a shot he’s made hundreds of times, during the game’s final minute that would’ve given the Lakers the lead. What comes next for him remains to be seen. He was noncommittal on his future after the loss.
Behind Mitchell, Harden and Evan Mobley’s phenomenal defensive effort, the Cavs are very much alive in this series. Still chasing their ghosts, still seeking redemption for past failures.
Mitchell isn’t James, and neither is Harden. But together, they’re trying to get this franchise to places rarely seen over the last 30 years without him. Two more to go.
