Game 7 is here. Against all odds, the Pistons have taken the first-round series against the Magic back to Detroit. Similar to their appearance in the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Pistons have a chance to defeat the No. 8 Magic after trailing 3-1. Yet, the Pistons can't get complacent. Orlando has proven to be a very tough matchup and outplayed the Pistons for long stretches of the series.
Detroit has to play a very good game to defeat this Orlando team on Sunday. There are three big keys for the Pistons to overcome the Magic in Game 7.
1. Let Cade Cunningham Attack
As good as the Magic's defense has been in this series, Orlando is still having trouble slowing down Cade Cunningham. This has been exacerbated in the last two games without Franz Wagner. The German forward was the primary defender on Cade when on the court, but he is unlikely to suit up in Game 7.
Paolo Banchero has been guarding Cunningham for most of the time since Wagner's injury, but Orlando is completely fine with switching everyone on Cade. The Pistons star has had a ton of success going up against Orlando's bigs, Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze. Cunningham was 6/8 from the field for 15 points when Carter or Bitadze was switched on him in Game 6.
Considering that points will be difficult to come by again on Sunday, the Pistons have to let Cunningham attack Orlando's weaker perimeter defenders early and often.
2. Tighten the Rotation
The Pistons' rotation has gotten tighter as the series has progressed due to Kevin Huerter's injury and Ron Holland's underwhelming performance. Yet, J.B. Bickerstaff still played 10 players on Friday after the surprise Paul Reed sighting. Reed was excellent in Game 6 and deserves a look in Game 7, but the rest of the rotation can shrink further.
Caris LeVert played five minutes and was 0/2 from the field. The Pistons lost those minutes by five, and the veteran guard didn't see the floor again. Bickerstaff shouldn't waste any more time with these experiments and play his starters as many minutes as they can handle.
Cade played 42 minutes in Game 6, and every other starter except for Duren played over 36 minutes. Considering the limited contributions the Pistons got from their bench all series, this should continue in Game 7.
3. Unleash Ausar Thompson Defensively
Despite his offensive struggles, Ausar Thompson is having an incredible defensive series. Averaging 2.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game in six games, Thompson has been all over the place defensively. In Game 6, the Pistons owned an 81.4 defensive rating with Thompson on the court. Yet, there could be even another level that Thompson can hit on that end.
Bickerstaff has deployed Thompson on Desmond Bane for most of the series. While this has helped prevent the Magic offense from humming, Bane is still having a very efficient and productive series. He has been able to get going from downtown, hitting 3.7 3-pointers on 41.5 percent from beyond the arc, while averaging 18.5 points.
Since Bane is such an elite shooter, Thompson can't roam off from him to help elsewhere. When he is closer to the basket, Thompson is one of the best rim-protecting perimeter players in the league. Having to guard Bane, however, forces him to be on the perimeter more often than Detroit would prefer.
More stretches of the game where Thompson is guarding Paolo Banchero, or even Jamal Cain, would allow him to be a more active help defender. The Pistons have to win Game 7 with their defense, so Bickerstaff throwing a curveball at Orlando's best player could make a positive impact for Detroit.
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