The nice thing about the NBA playoffs is that after every series, you start with a clean slate. So, that the Cleveland Cavaliers had a tougher time than expected with the Toronto Raptors means nothing when they start the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight against the Detroit Pistons.

As for game seven, the Cavs found themselves down 47-38 with 2:58 left in the second quarter. Max Strus drilled a three, got a steal which led to two free throws from James Harden. After an offensive foul drawn by Strus, Harden knocked down another three, and after another turnover, Jaylon Tyson hit another three and the home team went into the locker room tied.

The third quarter was the Jarrett Allen takeover. Allen scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards in those 12 minutes, and Donovan Mitchell added nine more as Cleveland outscored the Raptors 38-19 and basically put the game away.

You can’t minimize what Strus, Tyson, and to a lesser extent Sam Merrill did in that quarter although Allen was clearly the star.

Strus did a little bit of everything, the all-around game the Cavs need, scoring 12 points with 8 rebounds and five assists. And we are a fan of Tyson (and would like to see him get more time) for the same reason. He had 7 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists.

And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Evan Mobley’s aggressiveness in the first half. He wound up in foul trouble, but he had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes. At times, his passiveness drives us crazy, but he came out to make an impact.

So, now it is on to the top seed in the East, the Pistons, who also needed seven games, and had to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the series, to defeat the Orlando Magic.

Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris took almost half of the Pistons shots in the first round series win and were the only Detroit players to average more than 11 points per game. By contrast, Mitchell and Harden, who took the most field goal attempts for the Cavs, combined to take 41% of them and Cleveland had four scorers who average more than 11 points per game, and Strus scored 10.3.

The Pistons did not shoot the three ball well in round one, knocking down just 32.7% of them, and Cunningham and Duncan Robinson made 40 of the 68 conversions. We would point out though that Toronto didn’t shoot the three well in the regular season, but the overhelping Cavs defense provides opponents with some wide-open looks, so Detroit may do better in the series.

Another challenge will be the physicality the Pistons play with, particularly their big men, Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. Duran had 28 offensive rebounds in the Orlando series and Ausar Thompson had 25 more. The Cavaliers outrebounded Toronto for the series, but that was a result of the 60-33 advantage in the deciding game.

They will have to keep Detroit off the offensive glass.

Hopefully, the Cavaliers learned a lesson Sunday night and will come out with more intensity and physicality, especially on the defensive end in this series. And they don’t have homecourt advantage, meaning they will have to win at least one in the Motor City.

For all of the complaints we had about the Cavs’ play in round one, that all gets erased. It’s a new series and a new set of challenges.