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00:00Let's return to a dear friend of the show, a guy we love having on, a guy we love to
00:04share the studio with, and of course we read him all the time.
00:06On Cleveland.com, he is Chris Fedor, and he is on the Wise Heart Right. We make it right. Call
00:11Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:13Chris, how are you?
00:14Hi, Chris.
00:15I'm doing great, guys. How are you?
00:17Good. How's your stomach? And please tell me you don't have a little bit of the stomach bug.
00:21What is going on with the Cavs and that story?
00:24No, I mean, I've been sick for like three weeks, but it hasn't been any kind of stomach bug like
00:29that.
00:30Well, I see you playing through it no matter what.
00:32Yeah, we haven't noticed it in your coverage.
00:33You're a gamer, man.
00:34Way to go.
00:35I haven't seen one misspelling or anything.
00:38I appreciate that. Thank God for AI these days.
00:42Amen.
00:42No, I mean, I don't think it's anything significant that's going through the Cavs that's going to prevent guys from
00:48playing.
00:48They've got a clean injury report. Nobody's on the injury report with an illness.
00:52They had a voluntary shoot-around the other day before Game 5 in Detroit, and it was relatively heavily attended.
01:00The same amount of people that usually attend it, they attended it, with the exception of one, which was Sam
01:08Merrill,
01:08which was the specific player that was reported on.
01:11But he played the other night, and he played well the other night, and he made some timely shots for
01:16the Cavs,
01:17and he did the things that he did.
01:18So I don't think it's anything that is too significant that is going to prevent any of these guys from
01:25being effective.
01:27And I don't think it's a number of players.
01:31I think it's a small sampling of players.
01:33Okay.
01:34Chris, before we turn to Game 6, some strange things happened in, like, the final 245 of Game 5.
01:41You know, nine-point lead disappeared.
01:45Pistons went 0 for 6.
01:47JB had one timeout, didn't use it because he was waiting for, you know, late in the game in case,
01:53but he let the Cavs have a 9-0 run.
01:56Max Struis with another great defensive play to get a turnover, and the Cavs did some really, really big things.
02:02What was the biggest factor in that collapse by the Pistons or the great turnaround by the Cavs in your
02:09mind?
02:11I think it was a microcosm of how this series has unfolded,
02:15and I think it's followed the trajectory of this series.
02:19I think the biggest thing that stood out to me is that early on in the series,
02:25the first two games that both came down to clutch time, the Cavs didn't look comfortable.
02:31They didn't look as comfortable as Detroit in those moments.
02:35They were still trying to figure some things out.
02:37Do we put the ball in the hands of James?
02:39Do we put the ball in the hands of Donovan?
02:41What kinds of sets do we want to run in those kinds of situations?
02:46And it's understandable that the Cavs didn't really have those answers
02:50because they were still a relatively new team,
02:53and they were still working through a lot of those things.
02:57Whereas the Pistons, you know, they had been together all season long.
03:01They didn't make a dramatic change at the trade deadline,
03:04and they knew what they were going to run.
03:07One, they knew what sets to go to.
03:09They knew who they were going to be in those late-game situations.
03:14Since the Cavs have figured that out, one, they figured it out within themselves,
03:18and two, they figured it out of what the Pistons want to do
03:22and how to make the Pistons uncomfortable in those situations.
03:26And you saw that they had nowhere to go.
03:29Once the Cavs decided to send two guys at Cade Cunningham,
03:32just like the Cavs did at the end of Game 3 in that home game,
03:36where it was 1-0-4, 1-0-4 in the final two-and-a-half minutes,
03:39and the Pistons had nothing going for them offensively,
03:43and Max Struess changed the game with his leaping interception.
03:46It's just the Cavs have understood that late in the game,
03:49we're going to send two guys at Cade Cunningham,
03:52and we're going to force everybody else on the Pistons to try and do something,
03:56either make a play or make a shot.
03:59And nobody has been able to do that since the first two games of the series.
04:03If you think back to the first two games of the series,
04:06it was all Cade all the time.
04:07And he controlled the final five minutes in a way that Donovan Mitchell,
04:12James Harden, Evan Mobley, and those guys didn't.
04:15So in those late-game situations,
04:17the Cavs have grown more comfortable at both ends of the floor,
04:21and I think that's what you're seeing.
04:23When you're talking about a tightly contested series,
04:25it can come down to, like, that smallest margin,
04:29and the Cavs continue as this series has progressed.
04:33The Cavs have continued to look more comfortable in those moments.
04:38Chris, when you look at the box score and you see that Dean Wade
04:41didn't take a shot in the last game, what do you think?
04:45It's fine. He doesn't have to. That's not his role.
04:48Well, Jeff and I had the same conversation, but it was just –
04:51and I thought someone – I was like, who cares if he doesn't score?
04:54As long as they win, he ends up plus two on the night.
04:56And he had six boards. If he did his job, we win.
04:59That's all that matters.
05:00But it still does look a little awkward when you're like, man,
05:02the guy didn't even take a shot.
05:03It's a lot of time to be out there without a shot,
05:05but he's not there for that in this series anyway.
05:09No. I mean, that's not his responsibility.
05:11That's not his role.
05:12Well, look, if he's going to get open looks from three-point range,
05:16then he's got to take those, and he's got to take those with confidence, right?
05:20But he's not going to be a high-volume guy.
05:22He's not going to be a high-touch guy.
05:23He's not going to be a high-usage guy.
05:25And that's why he fits brilliantly in this starting lineup,
05:29because you want Jared Allen and Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell
05:33and James Harden to get all these touches and be involved
05:36as much as they are on the offensive end of the floor.
05:39And you need a role player to fill in around those guys.
05:43And, look, sometimes Dean's going to close games, and sometimes he's not.
05:46Sometimes he's going to start games, and sometimes he's not.
05:50But he is a role player.
05:51He has a specific role, and they need him to do that.
05:55Set screens on the offensive end of the floor.
05:57And he does that.
05:59You know, crash the glass on the offensive end of the floor.
06:02See if you can get second-chance opportunities.
06:05If they're going to close out on you as a three-point shooter,
06:08take a couple of dribbles, see if you can cause the defense to collapse,
06:12and keep the ball moving.
06:14Kenny Atkinson says it all the time.
06:16Dean's a connector.
06:17And I think you see evidence of that.
06:20And I think he's the kind of guy, guys, that when you look at the final box score,
06:25you're rarely going to be impressed.
06:27You are.
06:29But he has an impact, and he has a tangible impact.
06:32And one of the most important things of the Cavs in this series is how do we neutralize Cade Cunningham?
06:40How do we make him uncomfortable?
06:42How do we wear him down by the end of the game?
06:45And Dean Wade starts that.
06:47Dean Wade is the start of all of that because he can lean on Cade because of his size,
06:53because of his length, because of his athleticism.
06:54And if you spin it forward into next playoff round against the New York Knicks,
07:00it's not going to be Dean scoring 10 points.
07:03It's not going to be Dean taking multiple shots.
07:05It's what do you do against Jalen Brunson?
07:08How uncomfortable do you make Jalen Brunson?
07:11And then if you make him uncomfortable, how uncomfortable are the Knicks now offensively?
07:17So I think if you're looking for some kind of certain numbers to measure the impact of Dean Wade,
07:23you're just not going to find them in a traditional box score.
07:26But his plus-minus is incredible.
07:28The net rating with Dean Wade surrounded by the new core four is like 17 points per 100 possessions better.
07:37And his on-off rating, there are two guys so far, three guys now,
07:42over the course of two straight playoff series that are on the positive side of net rating differential.
07:50James Harden, Jared Allen, and Dean Wade.
07:54Like, at some point, that's no longer a coincidence.
07:57At some point, that's no longer a happy accident.
08:00That Dean Wade is an impactful and effective player for the role that they're asking him to take on.
08:09How does a team that has terrific superstar talent who can take over a game, Donovan, James,
08:17how do they balance that ability and skill with knowing that if you play a really good team game
08:23and get the big guys involved, you're probably going to be really tough to beat?
08:28You needed Donovan to have the 39-point second half to win that game.
08:34But you might not need that every game.
08:36How does that get balanced?
08:39I think you saw it in the final three minutes of Game 5, right?
08:43There was a moment where James Harden was driving to the right-hand side,
08:48and he was being guarded initially by Dennis Jenkins,
08:52and Tobias Harris was the one who was guarding Evan Mobley.
08:56So Evan Mobley set the screen up high for James Harden.
09:00James Harden attracted two defenders, stopped, surveyed the floor quickly,
09:06made the right play, kicked it to Evan Mobley, who buried a clutch three-pointer.
09:11That's the evidence of it, right?
09:13It doesn't always have to be James score 30.
09:15It doesn't always have to be Donovan score 30.
09:18They're going to initiate a lot of the offense.
09:21They're going to command a lot of the attention.
09:24And then it's up to the guys in their situation, whoever it may be, Jared Allen, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley,
09:33Max Struess,
09:34whoever it may be, to play advantage basketball and make the right decisions, make the right plays,
09:41and knock down the open shots when they present themselves.
09:44And then there was another moment in overtime, the first basket that the Cavs scored in overtime.
09:49James Harden drew two defenders, passed the ball to Evan Mobley.
09:53Evan Mobley's around the free throw line in a four-on-three situation.
09:57He had an opportunity to pass.
09:59He decided to take a little bit of a floater,
10:01but Jared Allen was right in position in the dunker spot to go clean up the offensive rebound
10:07and get the put-back dunk for the first points of overtime.
10:10Like, that's the beauty of this offense, is that the amount of attention that sometimes James Harden
10:17and Donovan Mitchell command from an opposing defense allows the other guys that aren't as skilled offensively,
10:25that aren't as polished offensively, to play advantage basketball.
10:30And Evan Mobley has been doing that at a very, very high level,
10:34and I think Jared Allen has been doing that at a very, very high level as this series has progressed
10:38as well.
10:39So you see the vision.
10:41You see evidence of how it can all work together.
10:45And sometimes it's going to be Evan Mobley handling the ball in these pick-and-roll situations
10:51because he has the advantage in those situations.
10:54And I think it's just reading the game, reading the matchups, reading the flow,
10:59and what's needed at that particular time.
11:02And I think that's the beauty of having such a veteran maestro in James Harden
11:07and somebody like Donovan Mitchell, who is a selfless superstar,
11:11that they understand that they can have an impact on this team's success,
11:16even if it's not scoring the basketball or having the primary assist.
11:21It's the attention that they command from the opposing defense
11:25and what that means for everybody else that's out there.
11:28Chris, is momentum a real thing?
11:31No.
11:31I don't think it is either.
11:33No!
11:34It was like one of the most ridiculous storylines that's coming off of Game 4,
11:39and every time anybody brought it up, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
11:44If momentum was a thing, would they have gotten down 15 in the first half of that game?
11:50Like, if they took all of this momentum by winning two straight games at home,
11:56would they have gone down 15 points in the first half against Detroit in Game 5?
12:01No!
12:01Like, it's not a thing.
12:03It doesn't carry over from game to game.
12:05It may, at times, like you may be fueled by it, possession to possession,
12:10but it doesn't carry over quarter to quarter.
12:12It doesn't carry over half to half, and it doesn't carry over game to game.
12:16Because in the playoffs, every single series, every single game takes on a new life.
12:22And it's about adjustments.
12:24It's about lineup changes, rotational changes, and things along those lines.
12:30But no, like the idea that the Cavs had all this momentum
12:33after back-to-back wins in Cleveland, that certainly didn't carry over into Detroit.
12:38Right. And there's no guarantee that what the Cavs did late in the fourth quarter
12:43in overtime is going to carry over into Game 6 just because they're at home.
12:48They're going to have to execute the same way that they did down the stretch.
12:52They're going to have to have the same level of attention to detail and focus
12:55and tenacity and energy and intensity and stuff like that.
12:59So, no, I think that's one of the most hilarious things that came out of Game 4.
13:04And I just had to shake my head at it because I don't believe that it's a real thing.
13:08I'm with you on that.
13:09It's funny because we sit here and we go, oh, momentum off the last game.
13:12I'm like, the last game's over, man.
13:14You can't do anything about it.
13:15And you better come out hot tonight because you don't want to give Detroit
13:18any kind of thought that they can win this thing and push it back to Detroit.
13:23I just look at it that way, too.
13:26All right.
13:26Do you believe the Cavaliers will win tonight?
13:29Let me ask you the questions backwards.
13:31How can the Cavaliers win tonight?
13:33Let's start there.
13:35I think they just have to continue to do a lot of the things that they've done
13:40as this series has progressed.
13:41And I think the number one thing that they can do is what they've done defensively.
13:47And it's, you know, force the others around Cade Cunningham to have to make plays
13:52and have to make shots.
13:53Try and limit him.
13:54If you limit him, if you make him uncomfortable, if you force him into turnovers,
13:58then Detroit just doesn't have enough around him.
14:03Jalen Duren has become almost unplayable at stretches, right?
14:07Asar Thompson is an offensive liability, and the Cavs have guarded him as such
14:11as this series has gone on.
14:13So, as long as the Cavs take care of the basketball, they continue to do the things
14:19offensively and defensively that they've done in the last couple of games,
14:25and they continue to have the same level of attention to detail and focus and enthusiasm
14:32and physicality.
14:33That's another thing that I feel like has kind of transpired as this series has gone on.
14:38You know, the Cavs have a better understanding of the level of physicality that they need to get to
14:44because Detroit plays with that level of physicality on a possession-to-possession basis.
14:48But if you match that, the Cavs are going to have a talent edge, right?
14:54So, like, if you play with the same level of physicality and intensity as Detroit,
14:59you're going to have the talent edge.
15:01You're going to have the depth advantage.
15:03You're the more complete roster, and some of those things start to swing toward you.
15:08So, as long as the Cavs do those kinds of things, and, again, taking care of the basketball
15:12is so important against the Pistons because they're so limited,
15:17especially in half-court environments offensively.
15:20So, if the Cavs do those kinds of things, I definitely think they can win,
15:25and I do expect them to win because I think they're the better, they're the deeper,
15:29they're the more complete team, and I think Detroit, while they have tried some things schematically
15:35and they've tried some things from a lineup and a rotational perspective,
15:40sometimes you get to a point in the series as the less talented team that you're like,
15:45well, we've exhausted all of our potential options to solve what it is you're doing,
15:51and I think Detroit has fewer options right now and fewer answers right now than the Cavs do.
15:57So, Chris, as always, we appreciate your perspective.
16:01Great stuff, and we will be reading your stuff every day in Cleveland.com.
16:04Thank you, thank you, thank you.
16:05Get healthy.
16:06You got it, guys.
16:07Anytime.
16:07Appreciate you having me on.
16:08Thanks, buddy.
16:09We'll talk to you later.
16:10Chris Fedor, friend of the show.
16:11Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
16:11thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
16:11thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
16:11thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
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