Reggie Jackson Comments on Playing Cavaliers in 1st Round of 2016 NBA Playoffs
The 2012 Philadelphia 76ers were the last No. 8 seed to upend a No. 1 seed in a first-round NBA playoff series, but the Detroit Pistons—and point guard Reggie Jackson, in particular—are gunning to become the sixth squad to accomplish that feat when they open postseason play against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
By virtue of a 99-93 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, the Pistons are locked into the No. 8 seed and will square off against LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and the defending Eastern Conference champions.
However, Jackson isn't afraid of the task at hand.
"I like it...I don't want to fight Goliath's homeboy or little brother," Jackson said following Tuesday's loss, according to the Miami Herald's Ethan J. Skolnick. "I want to fight Goliath."
"I think that's how this locker room feels," Jackson added, per MLive.com's David Mayo. "I think they'll probably hear this. You know, they're a tough team, and respectfully so, they're No. 1 in the East—one of the best teams in the league. But we're hungry. We're hungry to prove ourselves. We're hungry, and we're ready for the challenge."
It's not hard to see where that sense of confidence comes from.
| Nov. 17 | Detroit def. Cleveland, 104-99 | Detroit, MI |
| Jan. 29 | Cleveland def. Detroit, 114-106 | Detroit, MI |
| Feb. 22 | Detroit def. Cleveland, 96-88 | Cleveland, OH |
| April 13 | TBD | Cleveland, OH |
The Pistons have gone 2-1 against the Cavaliers during the regular season—including a 96-88 win on Cleveland's home floor on Feb. 22—and Jackson was rock-solid in those efforts.
In 33.2 minutes per game this season against the reigning Eastern Conference champs, Jackson averaged 20.3 points, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from three.
The Cavaliers will also need to deal with double-double machine Andre Drummond, who positively destroyed Cleveland to the tune of 20.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in the teams' three meetings to date.
And yet, Cleveland should be an overwhelming favorite despite those seemingly troubling numbers. Jackson's confidence is certainly admirable, but the Cavaliers' postseason experience and edge in depth and talent should allow them to dispatch Detroit—even if it takes five or six games to do so.
But regardless of how far they advance, the sheer fact the Pistons were able to snap a six-year postseason drought, accelerate their rebuild and develop young talent this season should give the team plenty to build on moving forward.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
