Cavaliers vs. Pistons 2016: Time, TV schedule and how to live stream NBA playoffs

The Cavaliers can complete the sweep with another win in Detroit.

Apr 24, 2016, 4:00 PM UTC

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavaliers will look to close the series and advance to the second round with a win in Detroit on Sunday.

A sweep wouldn't accurately reflect how close some of the games have been, but the best team in the East has always found ways to emerge victorious. They simply have more star power and a more balanced roster with no glaring holes. The Pistons, meanwhile, have not been able to trust their bench at all this series and have seen Andre Drummond limited by his dreadful free throw shooting.

Those small advantages have been enough for the Cavaliers to get a commanding lead and the chance to eliminate a tough Detroit team in just four games. Now it’s time to finish the job, and Cleveland should be motivated to do so sooner rather than later. The series has gotten chippy, and the last thing a contender needs is to play more games than absolutely necessary against a physical opponent with nothing to lose.

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all finished with 20 points or more in Game 3 and they will need to perform similarly well if the Cavaliers hope to complete the sweep. Love, who often takes a back seat to the other two stars, has been especially important in this matchup, as he causes all sorts of trouble for the smaller Pistons forwards on offense and can slide up to center. Detroit will need to figure out how to stop him before Sunday's game or their season could be over.

The Pistons are having their first playoffs experience with this core, so some of their mistakes and weaknesses can be forgiven. It's do-or-die time now, a chance to show the rest of the league that they are not a team to be taken lightly thinking about the future. Getting on the board would go a long way towards doing that and Stan Van Gundy surely knows it.

Most teams would not be motivated to extend a series they have no hope of winning, but expect the Pistons to come out energized. It will be up to the Cavaliers to match their physicality because Detroit won’t go down without a fight.