Backcourt
Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert ended their seasons with some of the worst shooting percentages of their careers, but J.R. Smith made a career-high 204 3-pointers. Matthew Dellavedova has proven to be a deadly 3-point shooter in catch-and-shoot situations, making 46.3 to put him in Steph Curry’s field (47.9).
Pistons: Reggie Jackson has excelled running high pick-and-rolls with Andre Drummond and drives the Pistons’ offense. Jackson is averaging 21.7 points in wins this season and 15.5 points in losses. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the Pistons’ best perimeter defender and will draw some votes for All-Defensive teams.
Edge: Cavaliers
Frontcourt
Cavaliers: LeBron James has been in playoff form for weeks, averaging 28.4 points, eight rebounds and 8.5 assists in his past 10 games. He seems to have fixed his jump shot, too. Tristan Thompson is expected to remain the starter at center throughout the postseason, although Timofey Mozgov will be counted on in this series after struggling through a difficult regular season.
Pistons: The Cavs passed on the chance to draft Drummond, who has evolved into one of the most dominant young centers in the league. Drummond led the league in rebounding at 14.8 per game, but he is a liability at the free-throw line. Tobias Harris was a midseason acquisition, but Kevin Love and James have taken turns exploiting him over the years.
Edge: Cavaliers
Coaching
Cavaliers: Tyronn Lue is making his playoff debut after taking over at midseason, but he’s certainly familiar with the postseason after winning championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s different as a coach. Lue already conceded the microscope feels more intense as a coach than it does as a player.
Pistons: Stan Van Gundy already upset James and the Cavaliers once — in the 2009 Eastern Conference finals. That Orlando Magic team had much more talent than this young Pistons team, which might still be a year away from really challenging the league’s elite.
Edge: Pistons
Prediction
Cavaliers in five games
— Jason Lloyd