The pressure now shifts fully on the shoulders of the Detroit Pistons as the Cleveland Cavaliers return home for Game 6 with all the momentum in the series.

Catch the game Saturday, May 16th, at 7:00 AM, Manila time. 

AWAY: Detroit Pistons (2-3)

Projected starting five:

  • Cade Cunningham
  • Duncan Robinson
  • Ausar Thompson
  • Tobias Harris
  • Jalen Duren

Detroit’s early-series confidence has completely disappeared. After taking a commanding 2-0 lead, the Pistons have now dropped three straight games and are reeling from a brutal Game 5 collapse. They led 103-94 with just three minutes remaining in regulation before unraveling and eventually losing in overtime, 117-113.

Cade Cunningham has done nearly everything possible to keep Detroit alive. The young star has consistently delivered offensively and emotionally, but the support around him has been far too inconsistent. Tobias Harris continues to battle, yet his efficiency has cratered lately, shooting just 12-of-36 over the last two games.

The bigger concern remains Jalen Duren. After emerging as one of the league’s top Most Improved Player candidates during the regular season, his offensive impact has almost vanished in this matchup. His scoring outputs of 11, 8, 11, 8, and 9 points simply haven’t been enough. That leaves enormous pressure on Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Daniss Jenkins, and Caris LeVert to provide energy and production. If Detroit doesn’t get meaningful contributions beyond Cunningham, its season could end quickly.

HOME: Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2)

Projected starting five: 

  • James Harden
  • Donovan Mitchell
  • Dean Wade
  • Evan Mobley
  • Jarrett Allen

Cleveland remains one of the harder teams to predict in these playoffs, but right now, everything is clicking. The Cavaliers have completely flipped this series after falling behind 0-2, and now they have a golden opportunity to close things out at home and send Donovan Mitchell to his first conference finals appearance.

Mitchell and James Harden have finally started looking like the star tandem Cleveland envisioned. After long stretches of inconsistency earlier in the postseason, the two have found rhythm together as scorers and playmakers, giving the Cavaliers far more offensive control late in games.

Just as importantly, the role players are beginning to swing the series. Max Strus proved that in Game 5, exploding for six made threes and 20 points in a momentum-changing performance. Cleveland’s frontcourt remains somewhat volatile, as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can still fluctuate from game to game, but when the team is energized and aggressive, the twin towers become a major problem defensively and on the glass.

The Cavaliers suddenly look confident, connected, and dangerous, and with the crowd behind them, they’ll try to finish the comeback in emphatic fashion.

PICKS

Spread: Pistons (+4)
Over/Under: Over (209.5)