NBA Playoffs | Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons: Game 5
Written by: Varun Sharma
Published: Wed May 13, 2026, 2:45 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Tonight we've got Game 5 between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers. Neither team has looked good on the road in this series and throughout the entire postseason. The series moves back to Detroit tonight with the Pistons looking to bounce back after two straight losses.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: Little Caesars Arena; Detroit, Michigan
- Date: Wednesday, May 13th, 2026
- Tipoff: 8:10 PM EST
Postseason Performers
- Donovan Mitchell (CLE): 35.7 MPG | 26.7 PPG | 5.4 RPG | 2.9 APG
- Cade Cunningham (DET): 40.5 MPG | 29.2 PPG | 5.4 RPG | 7.5 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
DETROIT Basketball
The Pistons came into the playoffs has the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and finished the year with the third most road wins in the NBA. Detroit's offense was just as good on the road as it was at home and defensively they were the same physical team, regardless of location.
That's all changed since the start of the postseason. Detroit's averaging just 99.6 points per game on the road in the playoffs, shooting 43% as a team and turning the ball over nearly 17 times a game. The team's giving up an average of 18.6 points per game just off turnovers and that's jumped to 19.5 per game in this second round series.
Cade Cunningham's been incredible here in the playoffs. He leads all players in points, he's averaging just over 40 minutes per game and has been the best player on the floor in two different series now. The only problem with Cade's been his turnovers.
Cunningham's averaging 5.5 turnovers per game in this series against Cleveland and he's got 13 total turnovers over just the last two games. If Cade can't take care of the ball, the Pistons can't consistently win games.
I Heart Cleveland
The Cavaliers love playing in their home arena, so much so that they refuse to win games on the road. Cleveland is still the only playoff team without a win on the road and if they can't conquer that hill, they won't make it out this series.
So far in the postseason, the Cavs are averaging just 100.2 points per game on the road. At home that number jumps to 118.0 points per game and the team shoots almost 10% better than they do on the road. It's not surprising to see team's struggle on the road in the playoffs, but good teams win tough games.
Both the Cavaliers and Pistons have struggled on the road, with most of those struggles coming from the bench. Cleveland's bench is averaging 29.4 points per game on the road but collectively the bench mob's shooting 39% from the field.
Depth on both sides is starting to look like an issue and tonight we get Round 5 of this potential '7-round fight'.
Wednesday's Best Bets
Jalen Duren o1.5 Assists (-130) | Lucky Rebel
Where in the world, is Jalen Duren? Duren averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game during the regular season; but none of that has translated to the playoffs. Duren's playing 31.3 minutes per game so far in the postseason, averaging 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Duren's scoring production has dropped nearly 50% and for the first time in his career, the big man's shooting below 50%. The Pistons' big man shot 65% from the field this year and not only has he struggled in the postseason, but even more so in this series against the Cavaliers.
Duren needs to be better if the Pistons hope to get to the Eastern Conference Finals and one thing he's done well this year is pass the ball. He's cleared this line in 15 of his last 20 games, averaging 3.0 assists per game and he's cleared it in six of 11 playoff games.
Duren's cleared this line in four of the six home playoff games and that's not surprising when you look at the team's home/away splits. Detroit's averaging just 99.6 points per game on the road, but 108.0 at home. The team's shooting percentages jump nearly 6% at home, not just from the field; but from the perimeter.
If the Pistons can just put more balls in the bucket, Duren should flirt with 3 to 4 assists tonight.
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