NBA Playoffs: Can the Cavs stop the Pistons pick and roll?

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons will officially meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs and the Pistons pick and roll may present some problems for the Cavs.

Back in 2009, the Cavaliers swept the Pistons out of the playoffs.

This time around, it may not be that easy for Cleveland.

As the Cavs and Pistons prepare to battle once again on the playoff stage, there is one particular aspect that could cause Cleveland some problems.

In Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond, Detroit presents one of the NBA’s best pick and roll combinations in the game. Ever since Tyronn Lue took over as head coach, the Cavs defense has regressed and containing the pick and roll has been an area of concern.

Put these two elements together and it creates a potential headache for the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs.

Now, it must be noted, Cleveland should not have any major issues in defeating Detroit in the first round. This series should not go any longer than five games at the maximum. In fact, something would need to go astronomically wrong for the Cavaliers not to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals once again.

Despite this though, that doesn’t mean the Cavs are just going to show up and the Pistons will lie down. In fact, Cleveland should expect the exact opposite.

“The world’s not picking us anyway,” Jackson said, via David Mayo of M Live. “They’re supposed to be the title contenders in the East. If we’re not favored anyway, you might as well get your crack at them, right? Of course, David may not have wanted to fight Goliath, but I don’t want to fight Goliath’s homeboy, or his little brother. I want to go fight Goliath.”

If David wants to have a chance, the pick and roll should be the weapon of choice against Goliath.

In three games against the Cavs this season, the Pistons won two of them. First came a 104-99 decision in November, where Jackson had 23 points and 12 assists. Drummond put up 25 points and 18 rebounds in the victory, as the duo ripped the Cavaliers defense apart with the pick and roll.

In the Pistons second win over the Cavs, which was in February, it was much of the same. Jackson had 23 points, while Drummond put up 16 points and 15 rebounds. It must be noted, when Cleveland did defeat Detroit 114-106 in January, Jackson had 15 points and Drummond 20.

The one constant factor in these games was the Cavaliers inability to defend the pick and roll. Whether it was an initial breakdown up top by one of the guards, allowing Jackson to get into the lane with little resistance or one of the Cavs big men making a poor decision, which gives Drummond room to roll to the rim and finish, the Pistons did what they wanted against a weak Cavalier defense.

Defending the pick and roll hasn’t just been a problem against the Pistons, but it has been a challenge for the Cavaliers all season long, as Chris Parker of the Cleveland Scene pointed out.

"The Cavaliers face a pick-and-roll more than a quarter of the time allowing the ballhandler (17.7%, 0.81 ppp) or the roll man (7.7%, 1.08 ppp) to attack them. They’re 17th against the ballhandler putting them in the 48th percentile, and they’re 27th defending the roll man, 10th percentile."

To further explore those figures, 20.3 percent of Detroit’s offense comes from the ball handler in a pick and roll situation, which is fifth in the league and third among playoff teams.

While the Pistons use Jackson a lot in the pick and roll, is it effective? Well, Jackson shoots 44.5 percent from the field as the ball handler, a pretty solid percentage. For comparison, Jackson is shooting 43.4 percent on the season and 43.1 percent against Cleveland.

So, Jackson’s numbers as the pick and roll ball handler aren’t excellent but they certainty aren’t bad. Against the Cavs though, Jackson is able to feast on the poor defensive performances from Kyrie Irving. While Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova will guard Jackson at times, to start games Irving will be asked to guard Jackson in pick and roll scenarios.

Irving has never been, and never will be, considered a good defender. He did show some baby steps forward defensively last season but all of that has been neglected this season. Irving is prone to get stuck on his feet and hasn’t got the instincts to make smart decisions when guarding pick and rolls.

Howbeit, the Cavaliers do have a cure for Irving’s poor pick and roll defense and that is Tristan Thompson, who is Cleveland’s most versatile defender.

Thompson has the capability to show on Jackson in a couple of different ways in the pick and roll. First, Thompson can show hard, which completely denies Jackson the ability to turn the corner and get into the paint. The usual problem with a hard show is that it can cause a subsequent switch and leave Thompson guarding Jackson. Although, with Thompson’s quick feet as a big, he can contain Jackson on the perimeter and force him into mid range jump shots. This could become a necessity, as Jackson is shooting just 40.3 percent from 15-19 feet, compared to 53.1 percent at the rim.

Additionally, Thompson could show soft, which still forces Jackson into a mid range jumper but it also allows Thompson adequate time to guard against a potential lob to Drummond.

More from King James Gospel

Cleveland could also trap Jackson hard coming off the screen but this leaves Drummond roaming free around the basket, for a lob or even a possible offensive rebound. The Cavs can try to force Jackson to the baseline, but again, this opens up the lane for a Drummond drive to the rim.

With all these options though, the Cavs ICE option, which they have used more often in the later stages of the season, is the best way to go about stopping the Jackson/Drummond pick and roll.

What ICE entitles is Irving, or whoever is defending Jackson, forcing him away from Drummond’s screen. While this is happening, Thompson will stay a step or two away from the action, containing both the penetration and Drummond’s drive to the basket.

This will stop the Pistons two most effective pick and roll conclusions- a Jackson finish at the basket and a lob to Drummond. It does open up the pick and pop but Drummond can’t shoot, so this is irrelevant.

While all of this sounds fairly simple in theory, as aforementioned, the Pistons have had no issues executing the pick and roll against Cleveland’s defense this season.

The Cavaliers definitely have the weapons and options to stop Detroit’s screen and roll action but with the current evidence we have, it could be a problem that the Cavs defense needs to figure out.