Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham On Game 4’s Free Throw Difference: ‘We Played Two Different Games’

In game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Detroit Pistons ran into a buzzsaw of foul trouble that sent the Cleveland Cavaliers to the free throw line nearly three times as often as Detroit in the 112-103 loss.

On the surface, Cleveland’s 34-to-12 edge in the free throw battle could be chalked up to a stylistic difference between the two squads, but that theory does not line up with the Pistons’ physical, paint-oriented offensive attack or the Cavs’ jump shot-heavy focus. 

When the game ended, Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell posted 43 points, 39 of which came in the second half, so the Pistons failed to contain the dangerous scorer by any metric. But a large portion of Mitchell’s production came via trips to the charity stripe, and the Louisville product ended up shooting more free throws than Detroit’s entire team by the time the final buzzer sounded. 

“We played two different games tonight, but it is what it is,” Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham told Cody Davis of The Detroit News. “I realized early on it was going to be one of those type of nights. I got hit on my arm early, didn’t get a whistle. Everybody didn't want to look at me after that. I kinda knew what it was. So, just playing the game, we can’t allow that to get to us. That’s part of the game. The home team, you never know how it’s going to be. It’s going to be hard when you’re on the road. So, just controlling our emotions, controlling what we can control and playing the best brand of basketball we can play. That’s not why we lost the game. I don’t know what was it, a 20 free throw disparity or something like that? It definitely didn’t help.”

So, the Cavs had a much friendlier whistle on Monday night, and Detroit head coach. J.B. Bickerstaff indicated that “the whistle has changed” since the series moved back to Cleveland for games three and four. But rather than harping on any perceived bias from the officials, Pistons guard Caris LeVert, who logged a season-high 24 points on the night, offered an analytical take on their nine-point postseason defeat. 

“I think defensively we let Mitchell off the hook a little bit, let him get to his right hand a little too much,” LeVert said. “And offensively, we’ve just got to move the ball a little better, get into our sets a little quicker. They did a good job of picking Deuce up full court, kind of slowing our offense down. We‘ve just got to be better combating that.”

In the first half of game four, LeVert was dialed in from both inside and outside the arc with 17 points in an electric performance that actually had the Pistons in the lead at halftime by a 56-52 margin. But after the break, Mitchell proceeded to slice and dice the Detroit defense for a 39-point second half scoring output that tied the best two-quarter stretch of productivity in NBA playoff history. 

Now, the Pistons loss can be traced back to areas other than the free throw difference. First-time All-Star Jalen Duren had another game with less than 10 points (and only a pair of rebounds) in 27 minutes of action, and the combination of Duren, Ausar Thompson and Duncan Robinson accounted for just 16 points on the night. 

Detroit needs more from their starting unit in order to take down the Cavs, but the series is headed back to Motown for an important game five matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 pm on Wednesday, May 13 with Little Caesars Arena set to host the playoff contest. 

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