Pistons-Magic highlights: Detroit’s problems are coming to a head as Orlando aims to crush the No. 1 seed. 1
Can we talk about Orlando Magic forward Jamal Cain’s dunk on Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren?
I mean, seriously, look:
Are we even interested in the game? Like, who actually won? I honestly don’t remember.
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This is one of the worst knockdowns ever and not just in a playoff context. Cain continued to climb and slammed into Duren, a man built like a Greek god, so hard that the All-Star center backed down after returning to Earth.
(OK, the Magic took a 3-1 series lead by winning 94-88, but that’s definitely just a B-story for the Cain jam.)
In all seriousness, let’s dive into Orlando’s big win Monday night as they look to become the seventh No. 8 seed to knock off a No. 1 in NBA history.
When Cunningham entered Game 4, he had totaled 19 turnovers in the series.
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At halftime he had reached 25 after turning over six times in the first half.
While Cunningham is ultimately responsible for keeping the ball rolling, the Pistons’ roster construction isn’t doing him any favors.
With both Duren and Ausar Thompson posing almost no threat from the outside, Orlando has the freedom to double and even triple-team Cunningham, attacking him whenever his feet are inside the 3-point line.
While Tobias Harris has done a great job adding spacing and overall scoring, the bottom line is simple: It shouldn’t be that difficult for the Pistons to generate offense through Cunningham, but they don’t have any other creators on the roster.
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Maybe they should have made a move for someone when their contract expired instead of sitting still.
But here they are, shooting 37.8% from the floor and 20% from 3 in a crucial Game 4 as their season seems to slip away.
Throughout the regular season, there was never any question as to who, between Carter and Duren, had the better season. Duren was an All-Star, a double-double machine and one of the most exciting young players in the league.
Carter, who is much more of an actor than a featured star, apparently didn’t get the memo.
During this series, the 6-foot-10 Carter consistently outperformed Duren. It’s not always reflected in his raw line (Carter had 12 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4), but his efforts put a spotlight on Duren when he hit free agency this summer.
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Duren has struggled mightily throughout the series, scoring a total of 39 points over the course of four games, finding it difficult to get shots up and getting beat by Carter on backdoor lobs and overall having a really problematic series, which could cost him millions this July.
Dear Jamahl Mosley, use Paolo Banchero better
I may sound like a broken record here, but giving Banchero the ball high on the floor and asking him to “do stuff” (which I’m guessing is his directive, because there doesn’t seem to be anything close to a plan), hurts the punishment.
Banchero is not a natural shooter, nor is he particularly effective as a spacer.
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He is, however, ridiculously good near the rim, and when he gets in for layups and dunks, he draws a ton of fouls and converts plays.
Orlando has one of the most inconsistent offenses in the league, and its plan is to use its most versatile offensive player, who is an athletic 6-10, 250-pound powerhouse, as an outside-in option?
It’s been nonsense for a while now, and it only seems to have gotten worse after Banchero shot 4-of-18 from the floor and missed all four of his 3-point attempts on Monday night.