Using Pivot/unpivot could be more than just a matter of choice. You can definitely avoid the Pivot with Case+Group but then you come across situations where you can't use Case+Group. This could be because the columns are not Static and you need to get the Columns Dynamically.

In these situations you can't avoid the Pivot and have to go with a Dynamic CrossTab.

For other situations it is a matter of choice and can be avoided.