Cavs Face Toronto in Game 7 as Who Do The Pistons Play Next
The Cavs play Toronto in tonight’s Game 7, and who do the pistons play next is the bracket question hanging over the East. Cleveland is back in the same spot it reached in 2024 against Orlando, with one win needed to move on after a 112-110 overtime loss on Friday in Toronto.
Kenny Atkinson On Game 6
Kenny Atkinson called the loss on Friday “This is typical playoff basketball.” That game went to overtime before Cleveland fell 112-110, and it left the series tied heading into tonight’s deciding game.
The home team has not owned Game 7 lately. Since 2021, the home side is 7-9 in those games, which is a sharp change from the Cavs’ 2024 first-round series against Orlando, when each club protected its floor all the way through Game 7.
Toronto’s Injuries And Cleveland’s Numbers
Toronto enters with two starters hurt, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, and that makes the Raptors’ rotation thinner than it was earlier in the series. Scottie Barnes remains the player Toronto can lean on, but the series numbers have already shown how tight the margins are.
Dean Wade has given Cleveland its cleanest edge. The Cavs outscored Toronto by 10 points in his 28 minutes, and his plus-minus sits at +49 for the series. Evan Mobley is at -23, James Harden is second on the team at +25, and Max Strus has the worst mark on the roster at -30.
Those gaps have come with sloppier play from several star names. Harden is averaging 5.7 turnovers per game in the playoffs, Cade Cunningham is at 6.2, and LeBron James is at 4.3. Cleveland has already learned how fast a series can swing in seven games, and tonight’s result sends one side forward while the other starts over.
