It’s not fair to expect any man to be perfect, and Cade Cunningham is no exception. The problem so far in these maddening playoffs is that, when he’s not perfect, his team’s imperfections become glaring.

Here were the Detroit Pistons in uncharted waters on Wednesday, May 13 – overtime waters, and their boat had sprung a leak. The last time this franchise saw an overtime playoff game was 19 years ago, when most of the current players were still sucking their thumbs. So perhaps they didn’t realize this: In such moments, you traditionally rely on your stars to win it.

Instead, the Pistons were watching their third-string center getting blocked and their backup point guard miss a 3-pointer and another backup guard miss another 3-pointer, while their starting center sat on the bench and their starting shooting guard was in street clothes. 

SHAWN WINDSOR: Pistons must forget one of the worst collapses in Detroit sports history

And then Cunningham, already fatigued from dropping 37 points in regulation and being consistently double-teamed, made two you-can’t-do-that errors: He lost the ball on a careless handle, which turned into a Cleveland layup, and he failed to box out James Harden on a free throw, resulting in a Harden offensive board, precious seconds off the clock and a foul that put two more Harden free throws on the board.

In a five-minute overtime period, that’s enough to swing the game.

“Turning over the ball over in overtime. … I wish I could have that play back for sure,” Cunningham said. “There’s a lot of plays I wish I could take back. But it’s basketball. It’s an imperfect game.”

Right. And Cunningham rises to the challenge way more than he stumbles. But when he does, when the Pistons need someone else to be perfect, they are like Tony Bennett singing that old song: Who can I turn to?

Back to backs to the wall.

ZEBRA TALK: Refs explain no-call on Ausar Thompson trip in Pistons' Game 5 loss to Cavs

A disaster, in just three minutes

“We aint supposed to lose a lead like that, man,” bemoaned Daniss Jenkins, who made his first career playoff start in place of the injured Duncan Robinson and acquitted himself nicely, with 19 points, three assists, two steals and a block. “We weren’t supposed to go to overtime. … [When you’ve] got that type of lead in the playoffs, we knew what game this was, how important it was. We can’t lose that lead. We gotta be better.”

He's talking about the Pistons being up, at home, 103-94 with three minutes to go and the crowd on its feet. Here is what happened between that moment and the regulation buzzer:

The Pistons gave up an offensive rebound that led to a basket, missed a jumper, missed a 3-pointer, gave up a dunk, had a shot blocked, had a shot clock violation, gave up a 3-pointer, missed another 3-pointer, fouled to give up two free throws, missed two more shots, had another shot clock violation, blocked a shot and got fouled in the final seconds – but didn’t get the call.

That reads like a script of "The Bad News Basketball Bears," not a formula for winning a critical playoff game. That down-the-stretch failure, like firecracker smoke, lingered into the overtime, where Detroit gave up too many shots, missed too many of their own, and Cunningham made those two mistakes and didn’t score until 26 seconds were left.

Now, by contrast, consider the Cavaliers, who had a wildly imperfect night themselves – allowing 20 points off turnovers in the first half. No matter. The team that hadn’t won a road playoff game this postseason got its act together when it counted.

The Cavs scored the last nine points in regulation to force overtime. And who did those points come from? Donovan Mitchell, a perennial All-Star, and Evan Mobley, an All-Star and last season's Defensive Player of the Year, with assists from Harden, who, oh yeah, is going to the Hall of Fame.

Then, in overtime, Mitchell scored seven points, Harden had three, Mobley had two. That’s 12 points from your All-Stars (and starters). Cunningham, in the same stretch, had two points while the rest of the Pistons' scoring, what little there was, came from the backups.

“When they start doubling Cade, what’s the challenge of finding another reliable source of offense?” someone asked coach J.B. Bickerstaff after the loss.

“We’ve got our spots,” he said. “We know where to put the ball. When they do double-teaming … now you’re playing advantage basketball. So we got to take advantage of it.”

The problem is, they haven’t. When Cunningham gets doubled, he’s often forced into bad passes, or he throws to the ball to one of several less-than-desirable options, such as Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson, neither of whom seem to have any inclination to score. Too often the ball ends up swinging back to Cunningham because no one else can either get a worthwhile shot or feels confident enough to take it.

Jalen Duren, missing in action

This brings us to the giant in the room. Duren, at 6 feet 10, is clearly a physical talent. But let’s just say it. He has, to this point in the playoffs, gone AWOL. He had nine points and five rebounds in Game 5. He sat the entire fourth quarter and overtime. And it wasn’t because of foul trouble.

This is the guy who a month ago, when Bickerstaff was asked what he’d say to critics who claimed the Pistons didn’t have a No. 2 option said, “I’d say Jalen Duren is a hell of a player.”

He may have been in January. He hasn’t been in May. A guy who averaged 20 points a game in earning an All-Star nod is averaging half of that in the postseason and looks timid, fumbling and unsure of himself when he gets the ball. He was asked after Game 5 if he was frustrated sitting on the bench during all that crunch time (in favor of third-string center Paul Reed). Duren said, “My brothers handled it. [Reed] came in ready to go, did his thing. As long as we get the win. …”

But they didn’t get the win. And personally, I’d like it more if Duren were fuming at himself that he was on the bench. He’s the starting center. He’s getting outplayed every night. He’s losing minutes. He’s losing confidence.

It’s nice that everybody keeps saying, “He’s only 22 years old” and that’s true. But so is Victor Wembanyama. Chronological age doesn’t mean the same thing in this league. Duren is only in his fourth NBA season. So are Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams. If Duren is old enough to be vying for a five-year, $240 million max contract, he’s old enough to handle what’s facing him now.

So far it’s handling him.

Back to backs to the wall.

No more surprises left, on either side

“We’re not going to go down without a fight,’’ Bickerstaff said of the looming Game 6 on Friday night in Cleveland, where the Pistons are yet to win in this series. “We’re not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing, and that’s just who we are.

“We’ve been in this position before”

That’s true. And attention must be paid to the fact that Detroit was down 3-1 in its previous series, against the Orlando Magic, and won three straight. That muscle memory will serve the Pistons well.

But after five games of this series – or any NBA playoff series, really – the other team feels like relatives who have stayed past Christmas and are now approaching Valentine’s Day. You’re as tired of them as they are of you. You can smell them coming. You can finish their sentences.

The Cavaliers have figured out that if they double Cunningham, the Pistons are woefully short on options, especially if Tobias Harris is anything less than stellar. (He went 6-for-19 Wednesday and missed several key shots down the stretch.) They’ve also figured out that you can beat Detroit if you draw defenders by driving the paint then whip the ball around the perimeter enough to find open 3-point shooters – something Cleveland has done painfully well in its victories, particularly with the annoying Max Strus, who hit six baskets in Game 5, all of them treys. Six? They were killers.

“How do you prevent that?” someone asked Thompson, Detroit’s best defender.

“Not overact to certain peoples drives,” he said, as if reciting a playbook, “know where the shooters are, stay attached, and not let other people be X-factors for them.”

It sounds so easy. But as Tom Hanks said of baseball in “A League of Their Own,” it if were that easy, everyone would be doing it.

Here’s the bottom line. The Cavs did something in Game 5 they hadn’t done all postseason – win on the road – and now the Pistons have to do something they’ve done three times in this postseason: stave off elimination.

To do so, they will have to pull a big tarp over the glaring hole in their boat: That Cunningham does not have a Harden or a Mitchell or Mobley to boost him, and that his regular season wingman, Duren, is, so far, flying at a lower altitude.

They live on their defense? Then make sure it isn’t fooled into allowing open 3-point shooters. They want to own the possession game? Don’t throw the ball away on ill-advised passes or dribble protection.

And, as unfair as it is, if the job calls for perfection, and there’s no wiggle room, then, sorry to say this, Mr. Cunningham, you didn’t have much choice.

“They’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Bickerstaff warned. He was talking about the Cavs. But it’s the Pistons doing it to themselves that you worry about.

Back to backs to the wall.

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow @mitchalbom on x.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons' support for Cade Cunningham torched by Cavaliers

NEW YORK – What’s wrong with the Detroit Tigers?

The Tigers (19-24) had one glaring problem in a 3-2 loss in the 10th inning against the New York Mets in Citi Field on Wednesday, May 13.

The Tigers couldn’t come up with the big hit at the big moment. They got just one hit in nine chances with runners in scoring position on Wednesday.

That brings them, in the first two games of this series, to 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position. That’s the fast way to lose a couple of games.

But here’s the problem: It’s not just one game.

They are 1-4 on this two-city trip, with one game left (at 1:10 p.m. Thursday).

HEALING TOUCH? Another absurd Detroit Tigers loss – but there's help on the way soon

Zoom back more and they have now lost 12 of 17 games.

During this skid, they have had problems with their pitching as well as their defense.

But right now, it's the offense.

“We've started to try to do a lot because you try to do something with your opportunities,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “But there's no quit. There's always the conversation about pressing and trying to do too much and swinging out of the zone or not swinging enough, right now, it feels like all the above.”

The Tigers got strong pitching from Framber Valdez, Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen to get them through nine innings Wednesday.

They got some fine defense, cutting down runners at the plate, making the routine plays and even some of the hard ones, all without any errors.

But the hitting.

Ugh.

“The takeaway is always the competition, whether you won or lost,” Hinch said. “Obviously we're having a hard time getting to the finish line feeling good. I mean, there's been a game or two here or there, and then there's been a couple of tough losses like this, so got to fight through it. Obviously need some resolve to get to the finish line feeling a little bit better.”

In the 10^th inning, with the free runner on second, Jahmai Jones struck out swinging. Riley Greene popped out. And Wenceel Pérez flew out.

On the other side, rookie Carson Benge singled to center and fellow rookie A.J. Ewing scored for the Mets.

A MOTHER'S LOVE: Kenley Jansen carries mother's final lesson into this Tigers season

That was the difference.

“They came up with contact with their guy on second,” Hinch said. “We didn't advance our guy in the 10th. When you get to the 10th, obviously, as the visiting team, there's a ton of pressure to do something and we couldn't do anything in that top of the 10th. Honestly, since the first inning, we had a bunch of guys left on base.”

The Tigers did manage eight hits.

But too many guys didn’t come through.

“Our guys are fighting,” Hinch said. “They're trying. Their guys did more than our guys did. So yeah, I was happy with our guys battle all the way to the end.”

So, while Kevin McGonigle was on base three times (two walks) and Dillon Dingler had a pair of hits and Greene had three hits and knocked in two runs, the rest of the Tigers' batting order didn’t do much.

“Guys chasing some things and trying to do a little more thanthey're used to, trying to fill some gaps with some guys missing,” Zach McKinstry said. “We just got to continue to try to put a good brand of baseball out there and have good at bats and just kind of do the guys that are doing well, just allow them to do well. And the pieces behind them need to step up a little bit.”

The Tigers are now 7-18 on the road.

But they are 12-6 at Comerica Park.

McKinstry was asked about that strange yin and yang. He wasn’t making excuses, but he did point out the differences of being a visiting team.

“Homefield advantage is definitely a thing,” he said. “These clubs nowadays have great home sides. … You get all these different machines. On the away side, you have one cage. Guys are hitting at 2 o'clock for a 7 o'clock game, and it's just hard. You don't have the same routine on the road. You're not in the same place. Guys get comfortable at home, and we have such a great facility at home. Guys are able to get their work in and on the road, you don't get that same feeling.”

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Detroit Tigers travel, their bats seem stuck at home

Detroit — Eminem was sitting courtside with 50 Cent. Detroit basketball royalty sat nearby, as Isiah Thomas and Ben Wallace looked on.

But home cooking only takes you so far in the NBA playoffs. And whether you want to blame the whistles that blew or the one that didn’t, you can’t ignore the plays the Pistons failed to make, either.

They’ll pack some regrets as they head back to Cleveland trying to keep their season alive Friday, suddenly facing elimination after letting a pivotal Game 5 slip away Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

After watching a nine-point lead evaporate in the final few minutes of regulation, some glaring mistakes in overtime sealed Detroit’s fate in a 117-113 loss.

Cade Cunningham scored a game-high 39 points Wednesday, but he also committed a costly turnover early in overtime and then missed a free-throw cutout with 22 seconds left in what was still a one-possession game.

And on a night where the Pistons appeared poised to regain control of this best-of-seven series, that ugly finish was one they won’t easily forget.

Neither will the fans, of course, particularly after the way regulation ended Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers put the ball in the hands of star guard Donovan Mitchell, but some terrific defense by Ausar Thompson ended with him knocking the ball loose on Mitchell’s attempted floater. Then came the controversy, though, as Thompson tried to chase down the loose ball and was tripped up by Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen. He went sprawling to the floor with 1.7 seconds left as the ball bounced out of bounds.

Veteran referee Tony Brothers was right in front of the play but didn’t blow his whistle. Thompson was livid about the no-call, as was J.B. Bickerstaff, who came charging out on the court to argue after time expired and the two teams were headed to overtime. The ESPN announcing crew also sounded a bit incredulous there was no foul called on the play, and if there had been, Thompson would’ve been at the free-throw line with a chance to win it in regulation because the Cavs were over the foul limit.

“He fouled Ausar,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s clear. He trips him when he’s going for a loose ball. End-of-game situation, that’s tough.”

That’s what they’ve come to expect as this series has shifted dramatically, from a 2-0 series lead after the first two games in Detroit to this ominous task the Pistons are facing now.

They shot 35 free throws in Game 1 of this series, then shot 34 combined in the two games in Cleveland. And after he felt his team had gotten jobbed in Game 4 on Monday, Bickerstaff called that disparity “unacceptable,” suggesting the shift was due to Kenny Atkinson’s complaints about Detroit’s physical play.

Game 5 didn’t go any better on that front for the Pistons, who were called for 10 more fouls (26 to 16) and shot 18 fewer free throws than the Cavaliers. So that end-of-regulation no-call was just another brick in the wall.

“We’re the Pistons,” said Daniss Jenkins, who scored 19 points while making his first career playoff start in place of an injured Duncan Robinson on Wednesday. “We know it was a foul but we don’t expect that (to be called).”

He insisted the Pistons didn’t let that “linger” into overtime, either. It didn’t matter, though, because the Pistons already looked flustered, failing to score a point in the final 3 minutes after a Tobias Harris three-pointer put them up 103-94.

In that stretch, the Pistons missed their final six shots and twice committed turnovers on shot-clock violations. And with the Cavaliers trapping Cunningham and forcing others to beat them, they ultimately couldn’t.

“We ain’t supposed to lose that lead like that, man,” Jenkins said. “We’ve gotta be better, gotta execute better. Defensively we gave up too many timely 3s.”

They gave up too many offensive rebounds as well down the stretch, as the Cavaliers, who’d trailed by as many as 15 earlier in the night, once again looked like the team with more playoff experience.

And now that team holds home-court advantage, which is a problem for the Pistons. Because the Cavaliers are a perfect 6-0 at home in these playoffs.

john.niyo@detroitnews.com

@JohnNiyo

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Pistons collapse down the stretch in Game 5 loss to Cavaliers