Da_James_Gang
NBA Starter
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2008
- Messages
- 5,659
- Reaction score
- 4,200
- Points
- 113
Head Coach
Starters/Reserves
Ilgauskas|James|Williams|Pavlovic|Wallace
Johnson|Stuckey|Iverson|Prince|Wallace
Game info
Courtesy of thewuck
Pistons Overview
The Pistons 25-20 record is better than their other stats predict. They have scored 93.2 points/game and given up 93.2 points/game. Nearly all of their other stats match up very closely with their opponents.
That said, they are 3-8 over their last 11.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, the Pistons also have played to the level of their opponent this year. They have beaten the Lakers and Spurs on the road, and lost at home to the Wolves (when they were terrible), Washington, and the Bulls. The Celtics have the Pistons number, so don’t read too much into Friday’s game. The most troubling thing for Detroit coach Michael Curry and also for the Cavs is there is no telling which team will show up. The bad one has been showing up in January.
After an unexplainable delay and a series of lost games, the Pistons have finally settled on their starting 2 guard, with AI starting and Hamilton coming off the bench. This gives the Pistons more size up front, but neither Amir Johnson nor Kwame Brown (who has been in the doghouse recently) have been providing much else other than that. Z and other Cavs need to take advantage. The Piston guards are a much bigger threat to score inside than their big men.
Pistons go through medium-long stretches without scoring but then can turn it on in bunches if AI gets hot or Rasheed starts landing 3-pointers (averages 5 attempts per game, makes less than 2).
Starters
Stuckey is a talented, scoring-minded guard with skills in dribble penetration and in the open court. He shoots at a higher clip than the other Pistons guards but not often from long range. He is pretty good from 15-18 feet and loves to drive to the hoop. Stuckey and AI give the Pistons two vertically challenged scorers. Stuckey defers more to his veteran teammates than he probably should.
AI has been a sieve defensively, but we’ll see if the Cavs ever have a matchup where they can take advantage of it. Stuckey gives more on the defensive end but he’s still young. AI can still create his own shot whenever he wants it but has been more passive and less effective. He always seems to kill the Cavs, though.
As Rasheed goes, so go the Pistons to some extent. Awful shooting game against the Celtics, but the Cavs know what he’s capable of, especially with long 3-pointers at home.
[Insert lame big man here] Amir Johnson managed to play a handful of forgettable minutes against the Celtics. Maybe Curry will call on Kwame against Z to at least get some size.
Prince has been solid for the Pistons this year, even if he had a bad shooting night against the Celtics. He’s going to have it just as rough dealing with LeBron.
Bench
Rip Hamilton was questionable for Friday night’s game against the Celtics with a groin injury that’s sidelined him earlier in the year. But he showed up against the Celtics with a decent shooting night. He’s not 100%. But now that Rip comes off it, the Pistons have scoring punch of the bench.
McDyess is not providing as much scoring this season but he does lead the Pistons in rebounding. His mid-range jump shot has not been money. But he also knows how to show up when facing the Cavs.
Maxiell has not taken the step forward Pistons brass thought he would. He’s been up and down.
Cavs need to pay attention to Afflalo if he sees on the floor. He doesn’t play much but he’s helped the Pistons win a handful of games this year.
If other players get in the game, it means the game is out of hand or Curry is desperately searching for something to work.
Strategy
The interior defense of the Pistons doesn’t have much bite. Cavs must attack, and LeBron can’t get fixated on jump shots. Pistons gave away uncontested layups against the Celtics. They’re likely to do it again. With an effective Z, the Cavs have enough weapons if they play smart.
The Pistons have a lot of experience with a small lineup because of the AI/Hamilton issues. So, they can easily go Stuckey-AI-Hamilton-Prince-Rasheed. It’s worked well at times for them but it’s hard to see this when LeBron and Z are on the court together.
Both teams would prefer to score in early offense. Both teams have had turnover problems recently, more than you would expect from either team. Giving the Pistons transition baskets is a killer since they often get bogged down in the half court and become a jump shooting team. AI has become less of a go-to guy the past month.
It is unclear who the Pistons go to in the clutch, since there have been several games where AI has been put on the bench for the entire 4th quarter. Somehow he hasn’t freaked out about this in a press conference. They have the tendency to go on long scoring droughts so the Cavs should have a good opportunity here.
Big Picture
Will the Cavs show up big for a weekend afternoon game?
Will the Cavs bench bring their game on the road?
Are the Pistons getting so desperate that they’ll play well or will they quit on their coach?
It would be great to see a Cavs blowout but the Cavs would also benefit from fighting through a tough challenge and beating a possible E.C. playoff opponent. If the Cavs are going to beat the Pistons on the road during the regular season (which happens only from time to time) this is a good opportunity to get it done.
lol.
