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The Cavs, coming off another 15-point loss to Milwaukee, make the short hop to Detroit to play the 5-16 Pistons, who the Cavs thrashed in Detroit on Nov. 4 by a 112-88 score. That win was made even more impressive by the fact that Garland and Mitchell, the Cavs’ highest scoring players, were out. But the Cavs’ bench outscored the Pistons’ bench 54-20, even with two of the Cavs’ bench players starting. Kevin Love was a +30.
This time the Cavs will have Garland and Mitchell, but Love and Stevens are out while Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert are game time decisions.
The picture for the Pistons is even murkier. Starting point guard Cade Cunningham, who is second in scoring and rebounding and first in assists, is out. He played in the first game and had 19 points. The Pistons also have five players listed as questionable; Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Corey Joseph, Isaiah Stewart, and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Stewart, their starting center and leading rebounder, is listed as either questionable or out, depending on the source. Bey, their backup small forward, is listed as out by ESPN. Bey averages 15 points per game. Bogdanovic is their leading scorer at 20.6 ppg while Ivey is their starting shooting guard. So ESPN has two starters out (Cunningham, Stewart) and two questionable (Bogdanovic, Ivey). Bottom line is I have no idea who will be available tonight.
I don’t think the Pistons are as bad as their record suggests. They have played 13 of their 21 games on the road and are 2-11. At home they are 3-5 with a win over Golden State. In their last three games they have played very well.
They beat 12-7 Denver on the road, despite being 0-10 away and not having Cunningham, Stewart, and Bey.
They beat 12-9 Utah on the road, also without Cunningham, Stewart and Bey.
They lost to 12-6 Phoenix by 6 points, also on the road. They trailed Phoenix by 3 with 1:30 to go. The Pistons were missing three starters in Cunningham, Stewart, and Ivey, plus Bey. The Suns were 10-0 at home.
They have been very competitive lately. Their last seven losses were all by 4-9 points. They’re right there, but just can’t get over the hump. It would be a big mistake to take them lightly no matter how many players are out.
For the season the Pistons are 21st in scoring, 21st in points in the paint, 24th in 3-point percentage, 29th in effective field goal percentage, and 29th in assists per possession. Based on that assist number my guess is they take turns going one-on-one. With Cunningham out they are even less likely to rack up a lot of assists.
The one thing they excel at offensively is drawing fouls. They are second in the NBA at free throw attempts per possession and lead the NBA in made free throws per game. Backup guard Alec Burks leads the team with 6.6 free throws per game. They don’t have a Giannis - everybody gets to the line a few times. It appears they just take turns attacking the rim and hope to get fouled.
They’re 25th in fast break points so they’re not a big transition team.
Defensively they’re a mess, ranking 27th in points per game (117.4), 29th in points in the paint, 24th in effective field goal percentage, and 23rd in free throws per possession.
They are 28th in opponents’ 2-point percentage and 8th in 3-point percentage so they defend the 3 pretty well but are very weak in the paint. If Allen can play the Cavs should be able to exploit that, especially if Stewart is out. Detroit ranks 26th in block percentage - they don’t have much rim protection.
They are pretty bad at defensive rebounding, ranking 28th. Allen and Mobley should get a lot of putbacks (if Allen plays).
In their win three weeks ago the Cavs shot 54% from the field and 42% from deep and that was with LeVert and Okoro starting in place of Garland and Mitchell. Jarrett Allen was 11-for-16, exploiting the Pistons’ lack of interior defense. Evan Mobley had 8 blocked shots. My guess is they steer well clear of him tonight. The Cavs had 10 offensive rebounds in that game despite the Pistons having all their key players.
The Pistons average 27 free throws per game but only had 15 against the Cavs in the first game, so the Cavs need to continue to play clean defense. They committed only 15 personal fouls and held the Pistons to 88 points without much fouling.
The Cavs can’t get complacent since the Pistons are 2-1 in their last three games against some of the best teams in the NBA. Even without Cunningham they’re playing some very good basketball right now. Two nights ago they almost knocked off Phoenix on the road without Cade, Stewart, Bey, and Ivey - three starters and their 6th man.
If the Cavs come out fat, dumb, and happy expecting another 24-point win like last time they could get hammered. I hope they’re watching film of the Pistons’ last three games. The Pistons may only have eight players available tonight but they’ve shown they can compete with anybody no matter who is playing, at least recently. Their last nine games they either won or lost by single digits with key players out.
This time the Cavs will have Garland and Mitchell, but Love and Stevens are out while Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert are game time decisions.
The picture for the Pistons is even murkier. Starting point guard Cade Cunningham, who is second in scoring and rebounding and first in assists, is out. He played in the first game and had 19 points. The Pistons also have five players listed as questionable; Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Corey Joseph, Isaiah Stewart, and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Stewart, their starting center and leading rebounder, is listed as either questionable or out, depending on the source. Bey, their backup small forward, is listed as out by ESPN. Bey averages 15 points per game. Bogdanovic is their leading scorer at 20.6 ppg while Ivey is their starting shooting guard. So ESPN has two starters out (Cunningham, Stewart) and two questionable (Bogdanovic, Ivey). Bottom line is I have no idea who will be available tonight.
I don’t think the Pistons are as bad as their record suggests. They have played 13 of their 21 games on the road and are 2-11. At home they are 3-5 with a win over Golden State. In their last three games they have played very well.
They beat 12-7 Denver on the road, despite being 0-10 away and not having Cunningham, Stewart, and Bey.
They beat 12-9 Utah on the road, also without Cunningham, Stewart and Bey.
They lost to 12-6 Phoenix by 6 points, also on the road. They trailed Phoenix by 3 with 1:30 to go. The Pistons were missing three starters in Cunningham, Stewart, and Ivey, plus Bey. The Suns were 10-0 at home.
They have been very competitive lately. Their last seven losses were all by 4-9 points. They’re right there, but just can’t get over the hump. It would be a big mistake to take them lightly no matter how many players are out.
For the season the Pistons are 21st in scoring, 21st in points in the paint, 24th in 3-point percentage, 29th in effective field goal percentage, and 29th in assists per possession. Based on that assist number my guess is they take turns going one-on-one. With Cunningham out they are even less likely to rack up a lot of assists.
The one thing they excel at offensively is drawing fouls. They are second in the NBA at free throw attempts per possession and lead the NBA in made free throws per game. Backup guard Alec Burks leads the team with 6.6 free throws per game. They don’t have a Giannis - everybody gets to the line a few times. It appears they just take turns attacking the rim and hope to get fouled.
They’re 25th in fast break points so they’re not a big transition team.
Defensively they’re a mess, ranking 27th in points per game (117.4), 29th in points in the paint, 24th in effective field goal percentage, and 23rd in free throws per possession.
They are 28th in opponents’ 2-point percentage and 8th in 3-point percentage so they defend the 3 pretty well but are very weak in the paint. If Allen can play the Cavs should be able to exploit that, especially if Stewart is out. Detroit ranks 26th in block percentage - they don’t have much rim protection.
They are pretty bad at defensive rebounding, ranking 28th. Allen and Mobley should get a lot of putbacks (if Allen plays).
In their win three weeks ago the Cavs shot 54% from the field and 42% from deep and that was with LeVert and Okoro starting in place of Garland and Mitchell. Jarrett Allen was 11-for-16, exploiting the Pistons’ lack of interior defense. Evan Mobley had 8 blocked shots. My guess is they steer well clear of him tonight. The Cavs had 10 offensive rebounds in that game despite the Pistons having all their key players.
The Pistons average 27 free throws per game but only had 15 against the Cavs in the first game, so the Cavs need to continue to play clean defense. They committed only 15 personal fouls and held the Pistons to 88 points without much fouling.
The Cavs can’t get complacent since the Pistons are 2-1 in their last three games against some of the best teams in the NBA. Even without Cunningham they’re playing some very good basketball right now. Two nights ago they almost knocked off Phoenix on the road without Cade, Stewart, Bey, and Ivey - three starters and their 6th man.
If the Cavs come out fat, dumb, and happy expecting another 24-point win like last time they could get hammered. I hope they’re watching film of the Pistons’ last three games. The Pistons may only have eight players available tonight but they’ve shown they can compete with anybody no matter who is playing, at least recently. Their last nine games they either won or lost by single digits with key players out.
