Jonathan Isaac was listed as doubtful again for Game 3 of the Pistons-Magic first-round series, with Orlando still not ruling him out after he sat out Detroit’s 98-83 win in Game 2 because of a left knee sprain.
The series is tied 1-1 after two games in Detroit, but the Pistons leave home with the better immediate memory. Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and handed out 11 assists in Game 2, and Detroit erased a 46-46 halftime tie by opening the third quarter on a 30-3 run that turned the game into a rout.
That came one night after Cunningham had carried the offense almost by himself. He scored a playoff career-high 39 points in Game 1, though Detroit lost that opener. In Game 2, the load was spread more evenly and the Pistons got the kind of balance they had been searching for all series.
Isaac’s status remains one of the main variables for Orlando, which had listed him as doubtful heading into Game 2 before ruling him out before tip-off. His absence matters because Detroit is trying to keep the ball moving against a defense that can clutter the lane, and the Pistons have already shown they can punish that look when Cunningham gets room.
J.B. Bickerstaff said the answer has been collective, describing the coverage as “a lot of guys and a lot of bodies” and saying it is never just a one-on-one assignment for Cunningham, but “one-on-fives.” He said Ausar Thompson has taken on much of that work, while several others have done a strong job of executing the game plan and keeping Cunningham from easy looks.
Bickerstaff also said Orlando is crowding Cunningham and loading bodies at him, but Detroit has worked on ways to create space so he can get his touches. “If he gets his touches, we like what he’s capable of,” he said, adding that the team simply needs to make sure he gets them.
The Pistons can take another piece of good news into the next game. They secured their first home playoff victory since 2008 in Game 2, a long-awaited milestone for a team that spent much of the final month of the regular season managing injuries to Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart. After avoiding postseason injury trouble so far, Detroit is in better shape than Orlando as the series shifts again.
For the Magic, the issue is whether Isaac can go and, if he cannot, how long they can keep absorbing the damage. For the Pistons, the question is simpler: whether the version of Cunningham that overwhelmed Orlando in stretches of Game 2 is the one that keeps showing up as the series moves forward.