Detroit Pistons’ Odd Mind Games Transforming LeBron James, Cavaliers into Beasts

Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson made it clear entering the playoffs that his team wanted to face Goliath.

His wishes have come true, as Detroit has woken a sleeping giant.

Jackson’s Pistons, now down 0-2 to the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, continue to play a physical series conspicuously overshadowed by Detroit’s foolish chatter. Already underdogs, the young Pistons are about to experience the wrath of a loaded Cavs team starved for a challenge.

After sleepwalking through stretches of the regular season, this series is just what the Cavaliers need. The talent has always been there, looking for a push, a spark of anything to awaken the beast within.

Now, the Pistons have provided just that.

Looking for a Fight

Remember that Cleveland stumbled through the first half of the 2014-15 regular season before eventually winning two Finals games without their second- and third-best players. After reaching the Finals last June, it was hard to identify much urgency during the regular season for Cleveland.

The Cavs have held the No. 1 seed in the East since November, even while Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert recovered from surgeries. There were no major offseason additions to work into the system, no historic regular-season goals to accomplish. Keeping guys healthy seemed as much a priority as winning ballgames.

Boredom seemed to creep in as the months wore on. Key matchups with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs momentarily made things interesting, but were virtually worthless in the standings.

“It’s tough. I think in some ways we wish we could fast forward,” Kevin Love said in early March. “In a lot of ways you also have to respect the process.”

It became frustrating to watch, as Cleveland would revert to lazy isolation situations and fall in love with the three-ball. LeBron James’ odd tweets stole headlines, at times proving far more interesting than the actual play on the court.

Clearly, this was a team ready for the playoffs to start. They needed a challenge in the East, something to provide some life and spark team unity.

Welcome, Detroit.

Veteran and Rookie Mistakes

Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy’s claim that LeBron James gets to do what he wants in referees’ eyes has set a fascinating example for his younger players. Since those comments, nobody’s been shy behind a microphone.

The most recent blurb has come from 19-year-old rookie reserve Stanley Johnson.

“He jabbers,” Johnson said of James, per ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell. “He moves his mouth sometimes. Their whole team does, …

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