The Detroit Pistons are moving on to the second round, and now we know who they will be playing.
The 1-seed Pistons will be playing the 4-seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, which will begin at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, May 5 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Peacock). It is the first time the Pistons have advanced to the second round of the playoffs since 2008, when the 2-seed Pistons dispatched the 3-seed Orlando Magic in the second round, 4-1, then lost to No. 1 Boston in six.
The Pistons are slight favorites in the series over the division rival Cavs, as the higher seed with homecourt advantage.
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Here’s what you need to know about the Pistons and Cavs:
Pistons vs Cavs fast facts in Eastern Conference semifinals
[ With the pressure finally lifting, there’s no telling how deep these Pistons could go ]
Pistons vs Cavs playoff history
The Pistons have lost 11 consecutive playoff games to the Cavaliers and are 6-14 overall in the playoffs against them. One name was part of all of those games: LeBron James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pistons’ last playoff win against the Cavs came in Game 2 on May 24, 2007, at The Palace of Auburn Hills for a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Cleveland won the next four to advance to the NBA Finals.
Deeeetroit basketball: Meet the Pistons
The buzz: The Pistons looked like a 1-seed exactly once in their series win over the Magic – in a Game 7 throttling that saw Detroit hold at least a 20-point lead for much of the fourth quarter.
Otherwise, this team has a lot of questions heading into the second round. Will star point guard Cade Cunningham be able to carry the scoring load again? Can All-Star center Jalen Duren forget the first six games of the series and carry his 15-point, 15-rebound performance into the next round? Will these young Pistons be able to keep their legs despite advancing further than all of them (Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson excluded) have ever advanced in the playoffs?
It may be a while before we find out, because while the Pistons still inspire doubts after falling 3-1 in the series to the Magic, their opponent has similar flaws and tired legs. And even though both teams will have short turnarounds after each playing a Game 7 on Sunday, at least the Pistons players and coaches get to sleep in their own beds before Game 1 at LCA on Tuesday.
If the Pistons come out flat in Game 1, however, maybe don’t look too much into it. They lost Game 1 against the Magic, after all, and were basically declared for dead at halftime of Game 6. Taking a first-round series to seven games is not how NBA teams usually start a title run, but you could argue, with some holes, the Pistons got an entire playoffs worth of experience in a nervy first round.
Meet the Cavaliers, familiar foes
At this point last year, the Cavs were the 1-seed at 64-18, staring down a potential matchup down the line with a mid-seed Pistons team. Now the tables have turned, with these Central Division, Midwest rivals once again meeting up in the playoffs.
The familiar aspects of the Cavaliers are still key to their success, most notably the core of guard Donovan Mitchell (27.9 ppg in the regular season) and big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The new aspect is midseason addition James Harden, who at 36 years old brings a lot of playoff experience to a Cavs team yet to break through – though a lot of that experience has been career-defining in a bad way.
Though the Cavs have regressed in many ways from last season to this season, they still supported the NBA’s ninth-best net rating and could be a sneaky East title team. The teams split the regular-season series, 2-2.
Harden, acquired at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Clippers for Darius Garland, only played in the final matchup, a 113-109 Cleveland home win March 3.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Pistons match up with Cavaliers in NBA playoffs second round
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
