The Orlando Magic are on the verge of eliminating the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
Little-known forward Jamal Cain posterized Jalen Duren last night.
Orlando beat Detroit last night to take a 3-1 lead in the series and push the Pistons to the brink of elimination.
Pistons’ Offensive Struggles
The Detroit Pistons won 60 games this season and were the top team in the Eastern Conference essentially the entire season.
Now, after losing to the Orlando Magic, 94-88, last night, they’re on the verge of exiting the playoffs in the first round.
The Pistons’ fall from grace starts with their disappearing offense. During the regular season, Detroit finished 10th in offensive rating, averaging 117.3 points per 100 possessions. Against the Magic in the first round? The Pistons have the worst offense of any playoff team, mustering only 100.3 points per 100.
Detroit’s stars have struggled.
Cade Cunningham is shooting under 43% from the field and has a whopping 27 turnovers through four games. Meanwhile, Jalen Duren’s scoring average has dipped from 19.35 in the regular season to 9.8 against Orlando.
In the second half of Monday’s game, the Pistons scored only 36 points as a team. (The Magic only scored 40, but it was enough to win.)
“Back’s against the wall. Whatcha gonna do? You’re gonna fight,” Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart said after yesterday’s loss. “You have to fight until the end, so let’s get back to the crib, protect the crib and take it one game at a time. The series is not over.”
Flagg Wins Rookie of the Year
All season, two friends and former Duke teammates seemed to go back and forth with each other, jockeying for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award — No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets.
Last night, the league announced that Flagg had won, barely edging out Knueppel by 26 voting points. Of the 100 voters, Flagg received 56 first-place votes and Knueppel got the other 44.
It was the second-closest vote of the last two decades. Back in 2022, Scottie Barnes beat out Evan Mobley for the award by 15 points.
This season, Flagg mostly lived up to expectations as the top pick. He averaged 21 points per game to lead all rookies and he became the first teenager to score 50 points in
Nuggets Avoid Elimination
The No. 3 Denver Nuggets were also facing elimination, but they defeated the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday, 125-113.
Now the series goes to a sixth game, with Minnesota leading 3-2. Outside of a very brief scare in the fourth quarter, it was a breezy victory for the Nuggets, who were playing a Timberwolves team missing its starting guards Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo.
The league will continue to keep you informed throughout the NBA playoffs.