The Detroit Pistons sunk to two games below .500 on Sunday, as they dropped another game, this time at the hands of alien-like Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. Currently out of the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture, the Pistons need a signature win to help boost their morale going forward. They have an opportunity to do just that later tonight, when they go up against the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers on the road.
Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our breakdown of Pacers vs. Heat.
The Pistons emerged as one of the winners at the trade deadline, but all that wheeling and dealing has translated to zero wins thus far. And with their 111-106 loss to New Orleans on Sunday, the Pistons extended their losing skid to five games and their next chance to get back in the win column comes later tonight in Cleveland.
The Pistons are 6-4 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games in Quicken Loans Arena dating back to 2011.
Detroit’s scoring has dipped lately, producing just 95.4 points over the last five games, around five points lower than their season average.
Still, it’s nice for the Pistons to see Kentavious Caldwell-Pope get back to form after missing a bunch of games due to a groin injury. Caldwell-Pope, who scored just four points in his first game back from injury—a 98-86 loss to Washington last Friday—scored 14 in the loss to New Orleans.
KCP’s been a key contributor in the past two meetings with Cleveland this season with averages of 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in those games. He should play another crucial role on both ends of the floor against Cleveland along with Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond in the starting lineup.
Jackson was relatively silent in the Pistons’ 114-106 loss to Cleveland back in January 29, but he remains Detroit’s most potent scorer with 19.1 points per game. He had 34 markers against New Orleans.
Drummond, on the other hand, gives Detroit a useful weapon to sustain its dominance in the paint. Drummond, who scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the Pistons’ 104-99 win against Cleveland on November 17, is averaging 16.9 points and 14.9 rebounds on the season.
The Pistons have outscored Cleveland in the paint, 96-76, in the two previous matchups.
Cleveland’s offense is humming. The Cavaliers secured their fifth-straight victory on Sunday by downing Kevin Durant and the Thunder on the road, 115-92. That’s also the fourth-consecutive time that Cleveland has scored in triple-digits, averaging 115.3 points during that stretch.
With the way the Pistons have defended recently, the outlook for Cleveland’s offense appear to be very positive for tonight’s ball game. The Pistons have allowed opponents to score 105.4 points in their past five games.
The last time Cleveland met the Pistons, Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving teamed up for 77 of the Cavs’ 114 points. Love top scored for the Cavs in that game, scoring 29 points on 9-for-19 from the floor. Love also posted 29 points in the win over the Thunder to go with 11 boards.
Irving, meanwhile, left the Thunder game after scoring just two points in minutes due to an illness. That’s no major injury though, so he should be ready to play later tonight. Irving had 28 points on 11-for-19 from the floor against the Pistons in January.
The Cavs’ biggest asset when going up against Detroit this season has been their outside shooting. They made 11 threes in the first meeting with the Pistons and 10 in the next. J.R. Smith has been waxing hot from deep, knocking down 22 treys in his past five games, including five triples against Oklahoma City.
As great as the Cavs’ offense has been of late, their defense shouldn’t be overlooked at either. They’ve limited their opponents to below 100 points in three of their last five games. The Cavs are fourth thus far this season in scoring defense with 96.9 points allowed per game.
Cleveland is 8-2 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 home games.
