Cavaliers advance to face Pistons, J.B. Bickerstaff in second round

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CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers know the Detroit Pistons extremely well because the two Eastern Conference teams reside in the Central Division and Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff guided the Cavs for four-plus seasons until he was fired in May 2024.

The Cavs hired coach Kenny Atkinson as Bickerstaff's replacement. Nearly two years later, Atkinson and the Cavs will meet Bickerstaff and the Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals, otherwise known as the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Pistons went 60-22 in the 2025-26 regular season to capture the East's No. 1 playoff seed. They will have home-court advantage in a best-of-seven series against the Cavs, who earned the East's No. 4 seed amid a bevy of injuries with a regular-season record of 50-32.


In the first round, the Cavs and Pistons seized 4-3 series wins over the No. 5 Toronto Raptors and No. 8 Orlando Magic, respectively. Game 1 between the Cavs and Pistons is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in Detroit.

Cavaliers playoffs: Cavs score, recap, analysis, highlights, stats vs. Raptors

Check below for much more information about Cavs versus Pistons.

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Detroit Pistons starters and other key players​

Here are the Pistons starters with stats from this year's playoffs:

• Point guard Cade Cunningham (32.4 points on 46.2% shooting from the field, including 39.6% on 3-pointers, 5.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 40.4 minutes)
• Guard Duncan Robinson (10.3 points, 36.9%, 36.5%, 3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 30.3 minutes)
• Forward Ausar Thompson (8.6 points, 51%, 0%, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 32.8 minutes)
• Forward Tobias Harris (21.6 points, 45.5%, 28.9%, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 35.4 minutes)
• Center Jalen Duren (10.6 points, 52.8%, 0%, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 31.4 minutes)

Other top Pistons players: guard Daniss Jenkins, forward/center Isaiah Stewart, guard Javonte Green, forward Paul Reed and guard Caris LeVert

Detroit Pistons injury report​

The Pistons had one player on their injury report for Game 7 against the Magic. They ruled out wing Kevin Huerter (left abductor strain).

Cavs vs. Raptors predictions: How did we see Game 7 of an NBA playoff series unfolding in Cleveland?

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What is Cavs' record vs. Pistons? Cavaliers went 2-2 against the Pistons in 2025-26 regular season​

The Cavs went 2-2 against the Pistons in the 2025-26 regular season.

Here are the results from those Cavs-Pistons games:

• Oct. 27: Cavs won 116-95 on the road
• Jan. 4: Cavs lost 114-110 at home
• Feb. 27: Cavs lost 122-119 in overtime on the road
• March 3: Cavs won 113-109 at home

Cavs playoff schedule. When do Cavaliers and Pistons play?​

The Cavs-Pistons series will start with Game 1 at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, in Detroit. It will be televised by Peacock and NBC Sports Network.

• Game 1: Cavs at Pistons, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, Peacock/NBC Sports Network
• Game 2: Cavs at Pistons, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7, Prime Video
• Game 3: Pistons at Cavs, 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, NBC/Peacock
• Game 4: Pistons at Cavs, 8 p.m. Monday, May 11, NBC/Peacock
• Game 5: Cavs at Pistons, TBD time Wednesday, May 13, TBD network, if necessary
• Game 6: Pistons at Cavs, time TBD Friday, May 15, TBD network, if necessary
• Game 7: Cavs at Pistons, time TBD Sunday, May 17, TBD network, if necessary

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How the Cavs match up vs Pistons in NBA playoffs second round

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