12 Takeaways from Cavs series-tying Game 4 victory over Pistons: Cavaliers go as Donovan Mitchell does

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 4 win over the Detroit Pistons to even the series confirmed Koby Altman’s vision for the team when he made the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to town in February.

“It’s hard being the number one option on a championship-level team,” Altman said right after the trade deadline. “The good news for him is he has another number one option right next to him.”

For the second game in a row, the Cavs showed the value of having two guys who can comfortably shift into the number one role.

There’s a trust between Mitchell and Harden that you don’t always see with superstar teammates.

Mitchell has reiterated during this playoff run that he’s more than happy to get out of the way if Harden has it going.

“With the way they’re guarding me, it’s kind of like four on four in a sense,” Mitchell said after Game 3. “They’re not leaving me so he can create the way he can. He gets in the paint, there’s no help.”

Mitchell willingly ceded control of the offense out of the gate, just as he did down the stretch on Saturday. Harden scored or assisted on Cleveland’s first 11 points, which helped them avoid digging a hole at the start of the game, as they did in their previous three games.

That was much needed on a night Mitchell struggled to get anything going early when he tried to. He compiled just four points on 1-8 shooting in the first half. Despite the strong overall start, the Cavs found themselves down by four at the break.

Mitchell determines the ceiling of this team. We’ve seen this repeatedly throughout the playoffs. The Cavs barely scraped by a Toronto Raptors team that they were far more skilled than, partially because they contained Mitchell.

“Toronto was unique in how they sold out on taking him (Mitchell), and James away,” Cavs’ head coach Kenny Atkinson said before Game 4. “Detroit has a little more comfort in their base defense and what they do.”

Mitchell made a compelling argument that the Pistons should shift out of their base defense.

Mitchell’s game is predicated on getting into the paint. He scored the first five points of the third quarter by getting to his floater in the lane, finding a rhythm he wasn’t able to discover in the first half. And once he gets the defense on its back foot, the outside shot opens up.

A three off a Harden assist, a pull-up triple, and then a step-back with his foot on the line took Mitchell’s strong start to the quarter into the stretch that essentially ended the game.

This all led to a 22-0 run for the Cavs that saw them turn a four-point deficit into an 18-point advantage. Mitchell provided 15 of those 22 points during that span.

In total, Mitchell poured in 21 points on 8-9 shooting in the third quarter alone. That mark tied him with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving for the most in a quarter for a Cavalier in the postseason.

Anytime your name is mentioned with those two, you’re in pretty good company.

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That impressive third-quarter run was only possible because of Cleveland’s defense, specifically Evan Mobley’s.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year reminded everyone how impactful he can be, as he registered five blocks and three steals in what his head coach called possibly the best game he’s seen from him defensively.

Mobley has done a great job of controlling the paint and making life difficult for Detroit’s All-Star center, Jalen Duren.

This was another tough outing in what has been a rocky road for Duren. He was limited to just eight points and two rebounds on Monday.

Both Mobley and Jarrett Allen have done a good job of not ceding offensive ground to Duren. They’ve contained him in the pick-and-roll and have been physical with him when he’s gotten the ball on the block.

Limiting Duren has forced more of the scoring burden onto Cunningham’s shoulders. He wasn’t able to carry it like he needed to on a day when Cleveland’s backcourt had it going.

The Cavaliers won the possession game. They had five fewer turnovers and five more points off opponent giveaways. Additionally, they won the second-chance points battle by five.

Detroit’s two wins have come off dominating both categories. The Cavs have done a much better job of cleaning this up since the series shifted to Cleveland.

Mitchell didn’t stop with an impressive third quarter.

The onslaught continued in the fourth until he put up 43 points. His 39-second-half points tie a league record for the most points scored in a half of a playoff game.

“He’s electric,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said afterward. “You let him get going, we know what he’s capable of. He hit some tough shots, but that’s what he does.”

Part of Mitchell’s effectiveness came from his ability to get to the line. He attempted 15 free throws while the Pistons as a group took just 12. That is something Bickerstaff took issue with, calling the free-throw disparity “unacceptable.”

“Ever since coming to Cleveland, the whistle has changed,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team. We’re not a settle team. We’re not a jump shooting team. We drive the ball, attack the paint. … It’s frustrating, but we can’t allow that to be the reason why [we lost]. Because we didn’t play well enough or to the best of our capabilities.”

Mitchell was on the other end of this issue earlier in this series, but has changed how he’s played since initially complaining.

“You can control what you can control,” Mitchell said. “And I can control getting downhill. Like I told y’all, I can’t say something about not getting calls and then shoot jump shots.”

Cleveland’s backcourt has done a good job of finding ways to be impactful at the same time.

Even though Harden didn’t have the same scoring numbers in the second half as he had in the first, he still was orchestrating the offense with 11 assists and finished with 25 points.

The current duo has struck a balance that Mitchell and Darius Garland weren’t able to discover.

One of the common criticisms of the Mitchell and Garland backcourt was that only one of them could be at the top of their game at a time. Something about their styles didn’t mesh as cleanly as it should’ve. While it’s true the pairing disproved some of those concerns last regular season, they were never able to actually do so in the playoffs.

Conversely, Harden and Mitchell have already shown numerous times this postseason run that they can, due to the quick chemistry they’ve developed in just three months.

“You have to learn to play together with somebody like that,” Jarrett Allen said about the current backcourt. “You have to learn how to share the ball and co-exist with two excellent players on your side. I feel like every single game, they learn something different about each other. They’re willing to take a step back and let the other one shine…it’s incredible to watch.”

The Cavs have defended their home court and have evened the series at two. Now, they need to find a way to steal at least one game in Detroit — a place they’ve melted late in the first two games.

So what’s it going to take to get it done in Game 5?

“Everything,” Mitchell said. “It’s been a hostile environment. We need each other. We’ve had two good games to build off of. … It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know we’re ready for the challenge.”

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