The Cavs hit the road with the first game in Detroit where the 2-17 Pistons have lost 16 straight games. There’s not much to be said and anyone who wants to stop reading here is certainly excused. The Pistons are in a death spiral.
These teams played in Cleveland two weeks ago and the Cavs, without Donovan Mitchell, prevailed by a 108-100 score. The Pistons had a mind boggling 18 offensive rebounds which kept the game fairly close. Fortunately the Pistons were just 9-for-35 on 3’s and committed 17 turnovers. The Cavs shot 51% overall and 43% on 3’s but took nine fewer shots than the Pistons thanks to all the offensive rebounds.
Two days ago the Pistons lost on the road to the Knicks by just six points, so they aren’t throwing in the towel. Cade Cunningham had 31 points. Cunningham is averaging 22.3 points and 7.1 assists. Nobody else on the Pistons is averaging more than 12 points. Cunningham has not been very efficient, shooting 41.6% from the field.
Detroit is 27th in scoring and 24th in scoring defense. They are second worst in turnovers per possession. The one thing they do very well offensively is rebounding where they rank 4th in offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs learned that very well in the first game so it will be interesting to see how they respond and whether they can avoid getting hammered on the defensive glass this time around.
Ethan Sands of cleveland.com reported that Bogdan Bogdanovic will make his season debut tonight. Bogdan is a 6'7" small forward who averaged 21.6 points last year on 49% from the field and 41% on 3's. He's 34 but can still stroke it with the best of them. If he gets hot - look out. This is a guy the Cavs might want to consider trading for if he wasn't owed $19 million next year.
The Cavs learned the hard way two days ago not to take anyone lightly as they were upset by the Trail Blazers. Darius Garland described their play as “lackadaisical”. If they play that way against the Pistons in Detroit they could easily be knocked off just like they were on Thursday.
This game is basically a dress rehearsal to get ready for the Orlando/Miami/Boston gauntlet that is coming up next. The Cavs need a really solid game to get some momentum and confidence going into maybe the toughest five-game stretch of the season.
Injury report
Cleveland
Dean Wade - OUT (ankle)
Ty Jerome - OUT (ankle)
Caris LeVert - OUT (knee)
Detroit
Ausar Thompson - PROBABLE (right facial fracture)
Bogdan Bogdanovic - PROBABLE (calf)
Joe Harris - OUT (shoulder)
Monte Morris - OUT (right quad strain)