Pistons vs Cavaliers preview: JB Bickerstaff gets another chance at his old squad

After being on the wrong side of a Trae Young game-winner, championship contenders Cleveland Cavaliers waltz into Little Caesars Arena for their third game in four nights— this will be JB Bickerstaff’s third game against his former team this year.

The Detroit Pistons are coming off a day of rest, so they have a slight advantage in that department. Even still, they’re facing one of the best teams in the league coming off a loss, so it’ll be a tall task.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons +6

Analysis

Neither of the Cavs-Pistons matchups have been close this year. The Cavs have shown the Pistons there are levels to this contending business.

Detroit’s lone All-Star, Cade Cunningham, is arguably having a better season than anyone on the Cavs’ roster. Still, their trio of All-Stars, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley, have been a handful for Detroit and the league as a whole (Jarrett Allen has been amazing, too).

Garland is healthy this year after facing several injuries last year that prevented him from playing at a high level. Mobley’s offensive leap and consistent defense have him on All-NBA watch. Mitchell’s counting stats aren’t as attractive as in past years, but Cleveland is spreading the wealth around. They won’t be a one-man army in these playoffs.

The playoffs are somewhere the Pistons could end up. They’re the 6th seed currently, and the bottom of the East is a jumbling pile of inconsistency. The defense wasn’t sharp against Atlanta, but they can hang their hat on that side of the ball most nights. Ausar Thompson joining the starting five on Jan. 4 and Detroit’s defense surging simultaneously isn’t a coincidence.

Thompson’s last outing against Atlanta was one of his best of the year. He displayed swarming defense and mostly finished around the hoop. Jalen Duren has benefited the most from Thompson’s insertion into the starting five. Duren’s room for error is wider, with Thompson constantly cutting off opponents’ water.

In Duren’s own right, he catches every lob thrown to him and plays bully ball in spurts. He dominated Nikola Vucevic last Sunday. Vu isn’t a standout defender, but Duren took his soul from a physicality standpoint. That’ll be tough to do against Mobley and Allen. Though Duren is much stronger than both, they’re savvy defenders who override their thin frames with length, positioning, and IQ.

Cade’s high IQ shows up when he’s carving up different coverages he faces. His seven assists in the 1st quarter against the Hawks was a career-high for any quarter. I love his pace and how he takes what the defense gives him. He’s been on a tear over the seven games, averaging 30 and 10. Detroit will need everything he has to compete with the 40-10 Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ll also need Malik Beasley to continue doing Malik Beasley things. Beas is 21 3s away from passing Saddiq Bey for most 3s in a season in Detroit. He’ll obliterate that record and may crack 300 makes. In the last game, his defense was shakier than usual, but he played Young as tough as possible on that last possession. That was just a tough make.

Projected Lineups

Cleveland Cavaliers (40-10)

Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Detroit Pistons (25-25)

Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Question of the Day

Is it crazy to say Cade should be at least 2nd Team All-NBA right now today?