PREVIEW: The top-seeded Detroit Pistons will take on the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. In order to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2017-18, the star-studded Cavaliers will need to take down top-seeded Detroit, led by old friend and former coach J.B. Bickerstaff. The Cavs and Pistons split the season series, with the Pistons finishing with eight more wins than Cleveland. There's a specific blueprint for beating Cleveland that involves taking and making a lot of 3s, the shot profile this two-big, protect-the-rim, over-help defense tends to allow. Detroit can't shoot—after ranking 28th in 3-point makes, 29th in attempts and 17th in percentage during the regular season, the Pistons have made a playoff-worst 9.7 triples per game. The Pistons won 60 games on the strength of the Eastern Conference's top-rated defense and on the strength of Cade Cunningham, a fringe MVP candidate who can manufacture offense all by himself. Going into Game 1, the Cavaliers are much more formidable and they don't have anyone on the injury report. With both sides coming off Game 7s, this one may come down to which team recovers fastest.