Category: Sports News

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been two separate teams this postseason. They’ve been an absolute buzzsaw at home. That team has been elite on both ends of the floor and has received multiple superstar performances from their core four. But if you get them away from Rocket Arena, they’ve looked pretty ordinary. This includes multiple fourth-quarter collapses in Games 4 and 6 against the Toronto Raptors and Games 1 and 2 against the Detroit Pistons.

Whether the Cavs can go about changing that trend will determine if they can advance to the conference finals. They need to win at least one game on the road to get past the Pistons. Why not do so in Game 5?

If they are going to steal Game 5, the Cavs will need to do a better job of containing Cade Cunningham when he’s at home. This postseason, Cunningham has averaged 31.8 points and 8.2 assists on 50% shooting in his six home games. That’s considerably more than he’s averaged on the road, including these two games in Cleveland, where he wasn’t his best self.

The Cavs were partially to blame for that change. They trapped him much more in Game 4 than they have at any point in the series.

“Just try get in his way,” Jarrett Allen said when asked on Monday about how to stop Cunningham. “Try to make sure that he rethinks every single pass that he’s going to take. Try to make sure that every single drive to the lane, somebody’s there to bump him, somebody’s there to contest him. Try to make everything as hard as we can for him.”

Whether the Cavs can do so in Game 5 could determine whether they can steal homecourt advantage.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2) at Detroit Pistons (2-2)

Where: Little Ceasars Arena – Detroit, MI

When: Wed., May 13 at 8 PM

TV: ESPN

Point spread: Pistons -3.5

Cavs injury report: None

Pistons injury report: Duncan Robinson – QUESTIONABLE (back), Kevin Huerter – QUESTIONABLE (abductor strain), Caris LeVert – QUESTIONABLE (heel)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Previous matchup: Donovan Mitchell’s 44 points allowed Cleveland to even the series.

Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Cavs	118.9 (8th)	115 (15th)	+3.9 (9th)
Pistons	118.3 (10th)	109.5 (2nd)	+8.8 (3rd)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player, dies of brain tumor at 47, family announces.

Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in the NBA, died following a “valiant” battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, his family announced Tuesday. 

Collins was 47. 

The ex-Nets player and 13-year NBA veteran had revealed his diagnosis in December in a piece published by ESPN. Stage 4 glioblastoma is one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. 

Collins died peacefully at his home surrounded by his family, ESPN reported. 

“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” a statement from Collins’ family said. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. 

“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.” 

Collins had gone to Singapore over the winter to undergo an experimental treatment, which had been successful enough to allow him to return to the United States, appear at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles and attend a game at Stanford, where he had played college basketball. 

The California native played in the NBA for more than a decade before he retired in 2014, playing two stints with the Nets — one while they were still in New Jersey and one in Brooklyn — along with stops with the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards. 

Collins became a national news story in 2013 when he announced that he was gay in a cover story for Sports Illustrated. In the opening, Collins firmly declared: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” 

The announcement made Collins the first openly gay athlete to play in any of the four major men’s professional sports leagues in North America. 

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” he said in the story. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” 

Collins returned to the Nets in February 2014 when he signed a 10-day contract with the now-Brooklyn-based franchise. He played 22 games for the Nets that season and was coached by Jason Kidd, who played with Collins during his first run with the organization when it was in New Jersey. He retired from the NBA in 2014 and became an ambassador for the league. 

The Nets said they were “heartbroken” over Collins’ passing.

“Jason spent eight seasons in a Nets uniform, helping define an era of our franchise and playing a vital role on our back-to-back Eastern Conference championship teams in 2002 and 2003. He was a constant in our locker room — selfless, tough, and deeply respected by teammates, coaches, and staff alike,” the Nets’ statement read.

“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others. 

“On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.” 

Collins married his longtime partner, Brunson Green, in May in a ceremony in Austin, Texas. 

In September, his family first revealed that he was undergoing treatment for an advanced brain tumor

The Knicks have the luxury of sitting back and watching the other Eastern Conference semifinal play out to learn their next opponent in the conference finals.

The Pistons and Cavaliers are tied 2-2 — both teams have won their two home games.

But who would the Knicks rather face? There are arguments for either. Let’s break it down:

The case for the Cavaliers

The Knicks lost all three regular-season matchups against the Pistons, and it wasn’t even close — their closest defeat was by 15 points. The other two were by 31 and 38 points.

They were completely outmuscled by the physical Pistons defense and interior presence.

But it’s important to remember how often the regular season does not translate to the postseason.

The case for the Pistons

They are pretty one dimensional offensively. Everything revolves around Cade Cunningham, and they lack secondary scorers who can create their own shot.

Jalen Duren has arguably been the biggest underperformer of these playoffs — his regular-season averages of 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds are down to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in the postseason. Ausar Thompson is extremely limited as a scorer. Duncan Robinson is purely a catch-and-shoot option and nearly useless when he’s inside the arc or has to create for himself. Tobias Harris has had some big games this postseason, but he shouldn’t scare the Knicks.

And the Knicks, between OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges (who shut down Tyrese Maxey in the second round), have good options to guard Cunningham and force others to beat them.

Between Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, the Cavaliers have a bit more offensive firepower and a more high-octane scoring punch.

The case for the Cavaliers

The Knicks dominated the Hawks and 76ers in the paint. Even with Duren’s struggles and their overall inconsistency, the Pistons’ inside defense has been superb. They’ve given up just 39.1 points in the paint this postseason — the fewest in the NBA entering Tuesday. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have given up the third most at 50.2 paint points per game.

The Cavaliers have a former Defensive Player of the Year in Evan Mobley at center, but he should have nightmares about the Knicks tormenting him in the first round in 2023. It’s become obvious how important Karl-Anthony Towns is to the Knicks offense — he’d probably rather deal with the skinnier Mobley than the stronger Duren.do

As a whole, the Cavaliers defense is much weaker than Detroit’s — their defensive rating of 113.1 is 11th among all playoff teams. The Pistons are third best at 106.1.

The case for the Pistons

Outside of his offensive struggles, Thompson is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. He would almost certainly guard Jalen Brunson for the Pistons, like he did in last year’s first-round matchup.

Brunson has pretty much figured him out, though. Who can forget Brunson crossing him up before drilling the series-clinching shot in Game 6 last year?

Across their three regular-season games, the Cavaliers seemed to find a potential Brunson stopper in Dean Wade. In those three games, Brunson shot just 1-for-16 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range when Wade guarded him, according to the NBA’s tracking stats.

The overall Cavaliers defense might be worse, but they have the better option to guard Brunson specifically.

The case for the Cavaliers

The Knicks would have home-court advantage. Little Caesars Arena was absolutely raucous when the Knicks and Pistons met in the first round last year. Pistons fans relentlessly chanted vulgarities at Brunson.

It would help to not have to play the first two games and a potential Game 7 there.

The case for either

Both J.B. Bickerstaff and Kenny Atkinson are strong regular-season coaches with little postseason success. Mike Brown has been pushing all the right buttons with the Knicks in the playoffs. They should be confident they’ll have the coaching advantage either way.

And in terms of depth, both teams are similar in the strengths of their benches. The Cavaliers are eighth and the Pistons are 11th in bench scoring in the postseason.

The Post says:

The Knicks should prefer to face the Cavaliers. The Pistons have looked a lot more beatable in the postseason, but even so, their defense has remained elite. It’s been on the offensive end where they’ve really struggled. The Knicks offense has been executing at its highest level in the two years with this core. The Pistons and their physicality would be a bigger threat to disrupt that than the Cavaliers.

Cunningham is the most dangerous opponent left in the East.

And home-court advantage does matter. Playing the first two games and a potential Game 7 on the road would be tough. It should also be noted that the Cavaliers have lost all five road games they’ve played this postseason.