Deleterious

Harris could be the key to this series. If he is the turd that showed up the first 6 games against Orlando, the Pistons are in trouble. Odds are they are going to cover Harris with Harden to let Mobley play Ausar and roam free to spy on Cade. Harris needs to work Harden if that happens. If he can get them to switch Mobley back to defending him, big win for Detroit as it should free up some more mid-range space for Cade.

The Pistons shot 31% on three pointers where there wasn't a defender within 6 feet of the shooter in the Orlando series. That isn't good defense, that is a shoot slump. In the regular season they shot 37% in those situations. A few guys started hitting some threes in game 7. Hopefully that holds up going into this series.

I wouldn't. It takes away their one legit three point threat. It also makes Harris try to defend on the perimeter, which won't be pretty. Mobley is more of a finesse big anyway. He won't bully Harris like Banchero did

Hey, you say something dumb so I can respond on my podcast for clicks. Also, the airline bailouts don't even rank top 3, do they? Fannie and Freddie, S&L, AIG, the auto bailouts in 2008 were all bigger I'm pretty sure.

That would be pretty hilarious. Trading your lottery pick in one of the most stacked drafts in decades for a center. Then turning around 12 months later and trading away your best trade asset for another center. But wait, there's more. The new center you traded for has a range of about 3 feet from the rim. The same range as your PF. So now you have created some of the worst spacing in the league, and you traded away arguable your best 3PT shooter to do it. But wait, there's more. You probably signed Duren to a stupid contract that will be one of the worst in the league. You traded away Murphy, who at $27/29/31 million a year for the next three years is one of the best contracts in the league. That is terrible roster management, even for Joe and Troy.

Random thoughts Of the 16 first round teams, Cleveland gave up the third most points in the paint. They did this against a team who did not have functioning center. The Cavs are not a good defensive team. Ranked 15th for the regular season. But if you limit that to the time Harden was on the team, they rank 18th. Very exploitable. Who guards Cade? Not Allen or Mobley. Not Mitchell or Harden. They used two different guys as the fifth starter against Toronto, so that leaves either Strus or Wade on Cade. Yes please. Yeah, Mobley is going to cheat off of Ausar and basically play free safety on Cade. Thompson will have to be aggressive running the baseline and cutting so they can take advantage of him being left alone. Orlando is one of the most physical teams in the league. Cleveland is not physical at all. The Pistons can bully them and Mobley and Allen are two of the softest bigs in the entire league. This will be a little bit of a Duren redemption series. I don't think he will get back to his regular season numbers, but I expect him to play better than the Orlando series. He can really push Allen and Mobley around. Cleveland is a dumb team. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs remember Allen is on their team while on offense. The Raptors played two terrible centers most of the game and Allen had a big advantage over both. But for the first six games Cleveland rarely went to him. They finally did in game 7 and he responded with a monster game. The more ball screens he sets for Harden the more involved he will be. The Pistons cant have the long stretches of low offensive production like they did against Orlando. The Magic are a bad offensive team and you can survive that against them. Cleveland has a good offense and they will be up 25 on Detroit if the Pistons struggle to score on a regular basis. The more Donovan Mitchell dribbles, the better the Pistons odds are of winning. Their offense is at its best when Harden has the ball and is distributing. When they go Iso Mitchell he forgets he is playing with 4 other guys and is just concerned with getting himself a shot. That is not good offense.

Minnesota takes game 1

The Knicks look like the best team in the east.

The extension is a head scratcher for sure. Not opposed to rewarding good work. But put a car in his driveway. Give him access to your private jet and tell him to take his family anywhere he wants for 2 weeks on your dime. There was no reason to extend him if he had 3 years left.

Love the schedule

I think Cade will get Harden and Thompson will be on Mitchell. Ausar could be swapped if one of the Cavs starts going off on Cade.

That Jakob Poeltl extension will haunt Toronto. Around $28 million per starting next year. He played 19 MPG and gave them 7 points and 6 rebounds per game in the Cleveland series. He was pretty much unplayable at times.