NBA Playoffs: Pistons' Defense Slides, Cavs Surge
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Detroit Pistons defense slipped from 108.3 points per 100 possessions before the All‑Star break to 112.1 points per 100 possessions after, though still ranking in the league’s top ten.
- Boston Celtics are easing Jayson Tatum into a heavier workload, moving his minutes from 27 early in the season to 32 in recent games to prepare for playoff intensity.
- Cleveland Cavaliers have posted a 12‑6 record since trading for James Harden, with an 11‑4 mark when he is in the lineup, and his playmaking has lifted the team to the second‑best offensive rating since the trade deadline.
- Oklahoma City Thunder face a key injury concern in Jalen Williams’ hamstring, yet they have gone 36‑8 without him and sit three games ahead of the Spurs in the West standings.
- San Antonio Spurs compiled a 5‑1 run during a six‑game homestand, and Victor Wembanyama returned from an ankle injury to score 25 points, matching a franchise streak record.
- Los Angeles Lakers post a +3.2 net rating when their three stars share the floor, but the James‑Doncic pairing is –2.1, prompting coach JJ Redick to stagger minutes and ask LeBron James to complement rather than dominate.
Why it matters: The defensive decline of the Pistons and the injury‑hit Thunder underscore how lapses at the other end can derail playoff pushes, while James Harden’s immediate impact on the Cavaliers’ offense shows how a single addition can swing a team’s fortunes.
