Could ABC have the NBA script for the Eastern Conference Finals? Many viewers noticed a new promotional ad for the series on Saturday, and it suggested that the Detroit Pistons won’t be part of it.
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Instead, the narration builds up the Cleveland Cavaliers’ chances of another upset as they take on the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been awaiting an opponent for days after officially sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers this past week.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers had a chance to achieve that upset on Friday night. However, Cade Cunningham scored 21 points to lead his squad to a 115-94 win at Cleveland, the first time the Cavs lost a home game in the playoffs.
Cunningham’s teammates also responded to their Game 5 loss at home, with Jalen Duren achieving a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, also recording three blocks, while Paul Reed had 17 points and six boards.
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The ABC promotional ad ran on ABC, and some social media accounts uploaded a recording of it to show on platforms.
It has a narrator saying, “the Cavaliers and Knicks Game 1,” and shows a time of 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, May 17. However, the Cavs still have to win Game 7 on Sunday against the Pistons to face the Knicks.
The social media shares prompted reactions from X commenters, calling out the blatant mistake by whoever allowed it to happen.
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“The game has already been decided, the NBA is fixed,” someone wrote in the comments.
Other individuals commented, “JB better play this on loop in their facilities,” and ” If anyone on the @DetroitPistons admin team is seeing this show this to the players & coaches, maybe some bulletin board material for them?”
“That’s terribly disrespectful, but not very surprising,” a commenter said in replying to the video clip.
The Cavaliers are heading into Game 7 as the underdogs, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. They went into Detroit in Game 5 and picked up an overtime win, taking the series 3-2.
However, Detroit responded by visiting Cleveland on Friday night and forcing the decisive Game 7. The No. 1 seed faced a similar situation in their first-round series: the Orlando Magic gained control, 3-1, but Cunningham and Detroit answered with three straight wins, including a Game 7 victory at home.
That could either show that this Pistons team can withstand the difficult grind of the playoffs, or that they prefer to live dangerously. Being on the brink of elimination several times isn’t the best look, especially when the ECF opponent is a veteran squad like the Knicks, who were on the cusp of reaching the NBA Finals last season.
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For more about the NBA Playoffs, head over to Newsweek Sports.
