Pistons Notes: Harris, Thompson, Cunningham, Jenkins
Tobias Harris hasn’t just served as a sage voice in the Pistons’ locker room — he has become the secondary option they need for playoff success. The 33-year-old forward is averaging 21.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in the playoffs as Detroit carries a 2-0 series lead into Cleveland this afternoon.
Harris told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic that his two seasons during his second stint with Detroit have been joyful.
“They bring me a lot of life. I tell my wife all the time all the time, ‘I love being a part of this team, I love being with these guys.’” Harris said. “On the floor, off the floor, the communication, the way we all are friends, really. I’m the older guy, but I look at our team like life-long friends outside of hooping — that’s rare. I’ve played with a lot of guys. I’ve probably only called a few of them real friends.”
Cade Cunningham said that Harris, who will be a free agent after the season, has contributed to his growth on and off the court.
“Man, he’s been great in a lot of ways,” Cunningham said. “He’s shown me things, on and off the court — professionalism, ways to make my life easier and do my job more efficiently. On the court, he’s so versatile. We can put him in so many different spots. He can space us and shoot the 3, we can put him on the block and he goes and gets us one. We went to him a couple times, I think, early fourth quarter to go get us some buckets. Just the ability to put him in so many different spots at the four position is great for us. His professionalism and the way that he leads is just the cherry on top.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Ausar Thompson and the Pistons are at the forefront of a defensive revolution, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press opines. Thompson’s ability to dominate at the defensive end could change the way front offices think about draft prospects. Thompson was a No. 5 overall pick by the previous front office regime and has overcome his offensive shortcomings with his defensive impact. Windsor notes that the top eight three-point shooting teams in the league this season have already been eliminated.
- Cunningham has emerged as a premier closer. He’s leading the league in scoring during this postseason, averaging 30.6 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field and 40.6% from behind the arc. “Cade is just fabulous,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “He’s a killer closer, and all the adjectives you want to talk about, he’s it, and in the fourth quarter, he does his best work.” Cunningham says that he’s fueled by crunch time moments. “I just want to win games. It’s been a lot of games down the stretch where it’s tight and you’ve got to have productive possessions,” he said. “The pressure, the moment – whatever the word is I’m looking for … it’s high stakes at the end of games. You’ve got to make plays. All of that stuff fuels me.”
- Backup point guard Daniss Jenkins struggled in his first five postseason games but has delivered in the last three. The former two-way player is averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists during that stretch and also made four steals in Game 1 against the Cavaliers. “That’s just me. I got to process stuff for myself,” he said. “Like I said, you can’t simulate the playoffs. Can’t do that. It’s my first time going through it. So, I knew I wouldn’t be scared, nothing like that. I just had to go through it, and I had to adjust to the intensity, the atmosphere, the physicality. Like I said, I think early on, I was just pressing a little too much. I just had to relax.”
Cavaliers Notes: Atkinson, Bickerstaff, Mitchell, Harden
Kenny Atkinson was named Coach of the Year last season. Could Atkinson be in danger of losing his job if the Cavaliers fail to get past the Pistons in their second-round series?
According to Brett Seigel of ClutchPoints (Twitter video link), there could be roster upheaval as well as a coaching change if that happens.
“If they kind of flame out as they have in past seasons in this second round series, there’s going to be major question marks about what the future of this roster looks like and, more importantly, what Kenny Atkinson’s future with Cavaliers looks like,” he said.
In any case, whichever coach ends up on the losing end of this series will endure a miserable summer, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic opines.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired by Cleveland after losing in the second round two seasons ago, does not have to worry about his job security in his current NBA home, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We’re going to be here for a while, right?” he said. “And this group is going to be together for a while. So we have to do what’s best for this group in total and not just react to our emotions in the moment. Being here, working with (president of basketball operations) Trajan (Langdon) and (team owner) Tom (Gores), they’ve afforded me the ability to be able to do that and see the game that way, where you don’t feel like you have to win or lose every possession or your job’s on the line.”
- If the Cavs want to climb out of the 0-2 series hole, they’ll need even more from Donovan Mitchell, Lloyd writes. He struggled through the opening round series against Toronto and in Game 1 against Detroit. He produced in Game 2, getting to the paint and attacking the basket while scoring 31 points, but continued to misfire from distance.
- James Harden was acquired to put the Cavs over the top. Instead, he’s been a turnover machine, Joe Reedy of The Associated Press writes. The 17-year veteran has more turnovers than field goals in four of Cleveland’s nine playoff games, including the first two against Detroit. “You look within first. Look at my turnovers, and a lot of them are just on me,” he said. “If you get a shot on glass, even half of that, and it’s a different ball game. For me, I got to be better. I will be better (not) turning the basketball over and getting shots up. It gives our defense a chance to get back and be set.”
- How the Cavs finish this playoff run will have a significant impact on the reputations of both Harden and Mitchell, Jamal Collier of ESPN opines. Mitchell says he doesn’t feel pressure. “This isn’t pressure. Getting your next meal is pressure,” he said. “Where am I going to live? You know, that’s pressure. This is an opportunity. This is fun. At least I know we put our best foot forward regardless of the result. … In years past, some s–t just didn’t go my way. Now I’m like: We made the moves. We’ve done the talk. Now, just continue to walk the walk.”
Cavaliers’ Merrill, Pistons’ Huerter Out For Game 2
Cavaliers sharpshooter Sam Merrill has been ruled out for Thursday’s Game 2 in Detroit, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The sixth-year wing was initially considered questionable for tonight’s contest due to a left hamstring strain, which he suffered during Tuesday’s Game 1 loss vs. the Pistons.
Merrill had a career year for the Cavs after re-signing with the club on a four-year, $37MM contract in 2025 free agency. He averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 26.5 minutes per game — all career highs — while shooting 42.1% from long distance during the regular season.
Merrill didn’t participate in Wednesday’s practice and it would have been surprising if he had suited up on Thursday, given the nature of his injury. But the fact that the 29-year-old was initially listed as questionable suggests his injury may not be severe.
Pistons wing Kevin Huerter will also be sidelined on Thursday, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Huerter was downgraded from doubtful to out because of a strained left adductor he suffered on April 27.
Huerter was playing rotation minutes for the top-seeded Pistons in the first-round series against Orlando. The impending free agent suffered the injury in Game 4.
Pistons Notes: Bickerstaff, Duren, Jenkins, Game 1
The Pistons were the worst team in the league when J.B. Bickerstaff was hired as the head coach. In just two seasons, they have become a formidable force in the East, winning 60 regular season games and finishing as the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Much of the credit for that success goes to the players, especially Cade Cunningham, who catapulted himself into MVP conversations this season, but Bickerstaff’s approach and emphasis on playing with maximum effort and tenacity have been a massive part of setting the team’s identity, Hunter Patterson writes for The Athletic.
Beyond his grit-and-grind mentality, what makes Bickerstaff special is how he approaches his relationship with the team, as Patterson relays.
“Everybody feels like they can call him to talk about if they have problems with their girlfriend or if they need something for their kids,” Cunningham said. “He’s just a very selfless and supportive person. Having somebody like that who cares about you on the court and wants you to be great on the court, but then also actually cares about your life and your well-being off the court is huge.”
Bickerstaff was previously the coach of the Cavaliers, but he’s not bringing any baggage from his dismissal to this series, Chris Fedor writes for Cleveland.com (subscriber link). However, that doesn’t mean that his added familiarity with many of the players isn’t helpful when it comes to game planning.
“I just … I spent a lot of time with those guys,” he said, smiling.
We have more Pistons notes:
- After a rough first round against the Magic, in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, Jalen Duren once again looked like the star big man he has been all season, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Whether crashing the offensive boards, making momentum-building defensive plays, or hitting timely dunks, Duren made it hard for Cleveland’s big men to get comfortable on Tuesday. He said that one thing he learned in the series against Orlando was how much he can impact a game when the offense isn’t clicking, writes Larry Lage of the Associated Press. “My value is on the defensive end,” he said. “My value is crashing the glass. It doesn’t always have to be scoring for me.”
- Daniss Jenkins‘ breakout season has carried over into the playoffs, when he’s been asked to play major minutes in high-leverage situations, including 29 minutes in Game 1 against Cleveland. He repaid that confidence by scoring six points and adding three rebounds and a steal in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the game, Lage writes. It’s the latest accomplishment in a season full of them for the former undrafted free agent, who was on a two-way contract until February. “He’s been building for it all year,” teammate Duncan Robinson said. “His journey is unique, and it takes somebody with a special will and character to have that story. He has unshakeable confidence for someone who’s been overlooked his whole career, and he just wears it as a chip.”
- Bickerstaff believes that having to win three games in a row to advance past the first round helped the Pistons learn what it takes to survive in the playoffs, ESPN’s Jamal Collier writes. “You understand how to close and how to finish. How to get to your spots,” he said. “Then you grow belief that you can. That series did a lot of that for us.”
Injury Notes: Merrill, Robinson, Embiid, Vanderbilt, Kennard, Huerter
Cavaliers wing Sam Merrill, who exited Tuesday’s game vs. Detroit after playing just seven minutes, has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain after undergoing an MRI on Wednesday, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Merrill didn’t participate in today’s practice and is listed as questionable for Game 2, though given his diagnosis, it would be a little surprising if he returns on Thursday.
Merrill was a crucial part of Cleveland’s rotation during its first-round series vs. Toronto, providing much-needed floor spacing. After making 42.1% of his three-pointers during the regular season, he converted 11-of-29 (37.9%) across seven games against the Raptors. Among Cavs players, only Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Max Strus made more threes in the first round, and each of them played more minutes and hit a lower percentage than Merrill.
As Fedor notes, after Merrill went down in Game 1, the Cavs increased the workloads of Strus and Jaylon Tyson and inserted Keon Ellis into their rotation.
“We’ll probably have to lean on those guys if Sam isn’t back right away,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has been added to the team’s injury report due to an illness and is considered a game-time decision for Wednesday’s Game 2, head coach Mike Brown told reporters this afternoon (Twitter link via James L. Edwards III of The Athletic). Robinson played just 12 minutes and had two points, four rebounds, and four fouls in Game 1.
- Although the Sixers ruled out Joel Embiid for Game 2 of their series vs. New York, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll miss multiple contests. Head coach Nick Nurse said today that it’s fair to consider Embiid day-to-day as a result of his ankle and hip injuries, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
- As gruesome as Jarred Vanderbilt‘s finger injury looked on Tuesday, the Lakers provided a positive update on his status on Wednesday. “They were able to put his finger back together. He’s splinted and he’s day to day,” head coach JJ Redick said of Vanderbilt, who sustained an open dislocation of his right pinky finger (Twitter link via Khobi Price of the California Post). Vanderbilt is considered doubtful to play in Game 2 on Thursday, while Luke Kennard is also on the injury report as questionable due to neck soreness, per the team (Twitter link via Jovan Buha).
- Pistons wing Kevin Huerter, on the shelf since April 27 due to a left adductor strain, has been listed as doubtful for Game 2 vs. Cleveland, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Huerter was listed as questionable for Game 1 being being downgraded to out.
Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Celtics, Harden, Towns, Duren
Celtics big man Neemias Queta enjoyed a breakout year in an increased role in 2025/26, making 75 starts in the middle and averaging new career highs in points (10.2), rebounds (8.4), assists (1.7), and blocks (1.3) per game while finishing fourth in Most Improved Player voting. Still, center is considered a position Boston will look to upgrade this summer, sources tell Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“Can Queta get you through 82 (games)?” one Western Conference scout said to ESPN. “Yes, but can he patchwork it through the playoffs? I think he keeps getting better, but there’s a ceiling. They have to get a higher-level center if they want to be considered serious contenders.”
The question is how the Celtics might be able to acquire a starting-caliber center after having moved so many of their larger, most tradable contracts last offseason. While the team should have some form of mid-level exception available, it’s not easy to add an impact free agent with that exception, especially since there’s no guarantee Boston will have access to the full non-taxpayer version of the MLE.
Here are a few more items of interest from Bontemps and Windhorst:
- Given their cap/apron situation, the Cavaliers will be incentivized to negotiate a new multiyear deal with James Harden that lowers his cap hit for 2026/27 rather than simply having him pick up his $42.3MM player option, Bontemps and Windhorst observe. “(That is the) best path to get under the apron without materially salary dumping,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “The Cavs will pay him more than he could get in free agency. They’ll probably work something out.” Sources tell ESPN that Harden and Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson have established a strong working relationship.
- Karl-Anthony Towns technically has two years left on his contract after this season, but 2027/28 is a player option, so the Knicks big man looks like a prime offseason extension candidate. A deal could hinge on how the rest of New York’s playoff run goes, but Towns had another All-Star season in 2025/26 and has been excellent so far in the postseason. “They’re probably in a spot with KAT that they should either extend him or look to trade him,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “If this playoff run convinces everyone this is a good fit, maybe they can get him to take a little discount off his max like (Jalen) Brunson did and help them keep the core together.”
- Earning an All-NBA spot this spring would make Jalen Duren eligible for a Rose Rule contract worth up to 30% of the salary cap (instead of 25%), but Bontemps and Windhorst suggest the Pistons will probably be reluctant to go that high for the All-Star center. One Western Conference executive who spoke to ESPN speculated that Duren might not even get a standard (25%) max deal, pointing to an average annual salary around $35MM as a figure that might work. “What’s a number that could leave both sides uncomfortable?” that exec said. “That might be what it takes to ultimately get a deal done.”
Bulls Hire Bryson Graham As Head Of Basketball Operations
The Bulls have officially hired Bryson Graham to lead their basketball operations department, per a team press release. Graham’s title will be executive vice president of basketball operations.
“We’re excited to name Bryson Graham as our Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations,” Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Bryson is an elite talent evaluator who has earned tremendous respect across the league, and that stood out immediately during our process. He has worked his way up through basketball operations from the ground level, and that experience has given him a deep understanding of how to build and sustain a successful organization.
“He is an effective communicator, a disciplined and thoughtful decision-maker, and someone who truly connects with players and people. He understands today’s league, today’s players, and what it takes to develop talent and build a winning culture. Just as important, Bryson is committed to building a high-level group around him. He knows what he does well, and he is focused on surrounding that with strong leadership across strategy, scouting, and player development. This is an important step for our organization. We know there is work ahead, but we are confident in Bryson’s ability to lead, build, and move us forward.
The news was first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).
Graham was the Hawks‘ senior VP of basketball operations for the 2025/26 season. He spent 15 years in New Orleans before that, Charania notes, working his way up the ranks from an intern to general manager.
The 39-year-old was GM for the Pelicans under former top executive David Griffin during the ’24/25 campaign. Graham parted ways with the organization not long after Griffin was fired and replaced by Joe Dumars last April. Graham is highly regarded around the league for his scouting acumen, Charania writes, which will be important for the rebuilding Bulls.
While Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd had been reported by some outlets as the frontrunner for the top front office job in Chicago, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported over the weekend that Graham, Pistons senior vice president Dennis Lindsey, and Celtics assistant GM Dave Lewin were still in contention for the position as well.
According to Charania, the Bulls conducted in-person interviews last week and considered Graham, Lloyd and Lindsey over the weekend before selecting Graham on Monday.
K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network says (via Twitter) there were four finalists, and hears all of them interviewed well. However, Graham was the unanimous pick, Johnson reports.
In a full story for ESPN.com, Charania and Jamal Collier report that Graham (in his executive role with Atlanta) helped facilitate trade talks between the Hawks and Pelicans last summer, when New Orleans moved up from No. 23 to No. 13 to select Maryland big man Derik Queen. The 2026 first-rounder the Pelicans sent the Hawks is unprotected and will be the most favorable of the Pels’ and Bucks’ picks.
Trey Murphy III (No. 17 overall), Herbert Jones (No. 35), Dyson Daniels (No. 8) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17) are among the players Graham has been credited for drafting, in addition to his work on trades.
Graham will replace former head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, who was fired near the end of the regular season alongside ex-GM Marc Eversley.
Pistons Sign J.B. Bickerstaff To Contract Extension
The Pistons have signed head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to a contract extension, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
Bickerstaff has led Detroit to a remarkable turnaround over the past two seasons. After finishing with the worst record (14-68) in the NBA in 2023/24, the Pistons improved by 30 wins in Bickerstaff’s first year at the helm, going 44-38 and making the playoffs.
The Pistons continued their upward trajectory in ’25/26, finishing with a 60-22 record, the top mark in the Eastern Conference. Detroit survived a first-round scare against No. 8 Orlando, falling in a 3-1 hole before winning the final three games to advance to the second round for the first time since 2008.
Bickerstaff, 47, reportedly signed a five-year contract when he was hired in July 2024, with the first four seasons being guaranteed. It’s unclear how many extra years his extension will cover.
It’s interesting timing that the Pistons decided to extend Bickerstaff on the same day that the Magic dismissed Jamahl Mosley. Bickerstaff defended his friend and said he disagreed with the Magic’s decision in an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s radio show, as Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire relays (via Twitter).
Bickerstaff, who took over as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association earlier this season, is a finalist for the Coach of the Year award. The other finalists are Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) and Mitch Johnson (Spurs).
After starting his NBA coaching career as an assistant, Bickerstaff has had previous head coaching stops in Memphis, Houston and Cleveland prior to joining Detroit.
The Pistons will face the Cavaliers, Bickerstaff’s former club, in the Eastern semifinals.
Cavs Notes: Allen, Harden, Mitchell, Flaws, Bickerstaff
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen muffled some of his critics with his performance in Game 7 on Sunday. Allen erupted for 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Cavs closed out the Raptors.
“I always feel like in this league when you get a certain label, it always sticks with you no matter what,” Allen told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “No matter how hard you try to change it, it’s always going to follow you around. I think that if I play on my mind with wanting to change a narrative that was placed on me about prior performances, that’s going to weaken my strengths going forward and always try to weigh me back. I’ve always been the guy that just moved forward. Things happened in the past that go my way, that don’t go my way and that’s just part of playing basketball, being at the professional level. Just be my best going forward.”
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said it was Allen’s best performance that he’s witnessed.
“Really took us over the top,” Atkinson said. “Best I’ve seen him. Coached him a long time. Known him for lots — that’s the best I’ve seen him.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Allen’s outing allowed Cleveland to survive despite relatively modest outings from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, ESPN’s Jamal Collier notes. Mitchell finished with 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting, and Harden had 18 points on 3-of-9 shooting. “[Harden] and I individually have had big nights,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had 50-balls, we’ve had bad nights, but at the end of the day, we haven’t won. We’re going to continue to be ourselves, right? But in the same focus, it isn’t just about me and him. It’s [Allen], it’s [Evan Mobley] … It’s everybody in that locker room.”
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic opines that the first-round series showed the Cavs’ flaws, which could lead to their elimination in the next round against the top-seeded Pistons. “(It showed) that they are vulnerable,” Vardon writes in an Athletic roundtable discussion. “Extremely vulnerable to ball pressure, to length on the wings, to teams that are willing to grab and claw and get into their chests. I think any playoff team that challenges Cleveland physically has a chance to advance. This is simply not an organization built to bang. But if you give the Cavs space, you see the offensive juggernaut they can be. Oh, we also saw when the Cavs bother to look inside, to Allen and to Evan Mobley, it opens up the rest of the offense.”
- The Cavs will be going up against their former coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, which will make for a juice storyline, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic notes. Bickerstaff will know how to guard Mitchell as well as any coach in the league, Lloyd adds, and the Cavs need the best version of Mitchell and Harden to advance.
Pistons Notes: Harris, Playoff Experience, Duren, Cunningham
A free agent after the season, Tobias Harris has shown the NBA world he still has plenty left in the tank. The Pistons forward averaged 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the first-round series against Orlando, including 30 points in the decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
“Nobody can say (bleep) to me about Tobias Harris,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I mean, he is dependable, reliable (and) prepared for the moment. He’s a leader, he’s a great teammate, (and) he’s a great human being. He’s a high-level competitor. To show up tonight and do what he did when it was on the line the most, it’s just exceptional. I can come up with more adjectives if you want, but I think you get my drift.”
Teammates have enormous respect for the 33-year-old Harris, who has been instrumental in the franchise’s resurgence over the last two seasons.
“He’s the ultimate vet,” center Jalen Duren said. “He’s been in these types of games. He’s got a lot of playoff experience. You know, I think J.B. calls him his safety blanket or whatever, but I think he’s the safety blanket for the team. He’s a guy we can go to when we need a bucket. He’s just the ultimate vet, man. He’s just been that for us all season, so it’s nothing new.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Harris said the team will benefit from the hard-fought first-round series heading into the conference semifinals against the Cavaliers. “One hundred percent [there are positives]. I said after the game that every series we learn,” Harris said. “We learn about ourselves as a group. It’s the playoffs. In my playoff experience, playoffs will put your team in a bunch of things you’re good at, and things that you have to get better at. We did a great job at just adjusting, figuring out ways to win games. Some of the [problems] were self-inflicted, but at the same time, we stayed composed and were able to understand the performances that we needed to win these games.”
- Duren had his best game of the series on Sunday. The fourth-year center, headed to restricted free agency this summer, racked up 15 points and 15 rebounds while anchoring the defense. “I know who I am, I know who the team is,” he said. “Outside noise is whatever it is. In our locker room we know who we are – as a team, as a group, as an organization. We don’t take this ‘dawg’ s–t lightly. We really feel like we’re dawgs. We feel like when our back is against the wall, the whole world counts us out, that now it’s time to go. Now it’s time to keep swinging. I never doubted anything. I never doubted the guys that I was going to war with. I never doubted the coaches. Never. Let’s keep going, let’s keep proving the world wrong.”
- Cade Cunningham posted averages of 32.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists during the series. Cunningham, who suffered a collapsed lung late in the regular season, complimented the Magic for forcing his team to overcome adversity. “Playoff basketball is a lot of fun,” he said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “So intense, so much on the line. They pushed us, really made us take a look in the mirror. I think we got a lot better from this series. Learned a lot about myself, a lot about the team. This series really is going to set us up for our next series. We’ll be a lot better for it.”