3 things to watch in Pistons-Magic Game 6

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The circumstances surrounding Game 6 in any best-of-seven series are always the same, which means wildly divergent. One team wants nothing to do with a Game 7, while the other will do anything to force one.

When you factor in home court, injuries and whatever momentum exists, the penultimate games can pack just as much urgency and drama as Game 7.

Does Orlando dare squander this opportunity on its floor at the Kia Center Friday night (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video)? Can the Pistons essentially win two games in one, both by scoring more points and by deflating the Magic a bit over the idea of getting back on a plane to Detroit? It’s pretty well-known that only 13 teams in NBA playoff history have ever climbed out of a 3-1 hole – Orlando has zero interest in getting within 48 minutes of that possibility.

The most recent game in this series – more evenly matched than your typical No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup – was as entertaining as it was competitive, with Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero each scoring 45 points en route to the Pistons’ 116-109 victory. Cunningham and his teammates, facing elimination again, know that beating the Magic once more could reset the matchup, maintain their roll and restore the homecourt edge they worked all season to snag.

Here are three things to watch in Game 6:

1. Cunningham is wired differently

Largely expressionless going up and down the floor, dissecting defenses, finding teammates for his passes or seeking his own shots, Cunningham takes cool to another level. At a time of year when many NBA players protest a bit too much about not feeling the pressure of the playoffs, Cunningham went the other way, talking about how much he welcomes it.

Feels fortunate to face it, in fact.

“[It’s] just opportunity,” the Pistons playmaker said after his 45-point performance in Game 5 on Wednesday save his team’s postseason.

“Not everybody’s blessed with the opportunity to have pressure. To have things on the line like that, a lot of times I feel undeserving of [what] great moments I get to be a part of.”

Catch that? Get to. That tells us how differently Cunningham is wired and explains his ability to put up the most points scored in a playoff game in Pistons franchise history. Hall of Famer Dave Bing scored 44 in a 1968 game, one more than Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas got in a 1988 contest.

Cunningham carried Detroit through three quarters with 37 points but only one assist. In the fourth, having sufficiently softened up the Magic’s defense, he spread the wealth with four assists while taking four shots himself.

“He’s not one of those guys who runs around taking a lot,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He understood what was in front of us.”

Understands again heading into Game 6.

2. Plugging Wagner’s spot

Magic forward Franz Wagner suffered a strained right calf in the second half of Game 4, producing at both ends – 19 points before his injury and strong defense on Cunningham, who missed 16 of his 23 shots and was a minus-7 in the Pistons loss.

But Wagner was in a walking boot and street clothes for Game 5, and he is out for Game 6. Calf injuries are seen these days as precursors to torn Achilles tendons, so medical staff don’t push speedy recoveries even in the postseason.

Which means Orlando again must guard Cunningham with someone (or someones) not as big and as mobile as Wagner. Jamal Cain is slender, Jalen Suggs gives up three inches and 15 pounds and other Magic options can stick with Cunningham’s quickness. Banchero might be a good choice, except he has so much offensive responsibility that Orlando can’t afford to let him get worn out (or in foul trouble) chasing Cunningham.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley may deploy a defense-by-committee approach, hoping a series of change-of-pace matchups can keep Cunningham adjusting.

3. The points left on the table

Remember Al Pacino’s football coach character in “Any Given Sunday,” giving his impassioned locker room speech about football as a game of inches? “The inches we need are everywhere around us.”

The points the Pistons and Magic need have been sitting right there at the foul line. Too many wasted.

In six games, the Magic have outscored the Pistons 511-508. But Detroit has missed 38 free throws, Orlando 44. That includes the Magic’s 14-of-30 misfiring while losing Game 5 by seven points.

Orlando ranked eighth in the regular season, shooting 80.1% from the foul line, but is last among the playoff teams at 70.3%. Detroit wasn’t very good in the season (27th, 76.3%) or now (12th, 74.5%).

Some mix of fatigue, jitters and fading concentration is the usual culprit when players too often miss shots they’ve practiced hundreds of thousands of times. The first team to lock in could apply serious pressure to the other.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.