Grades: Detroit Pistons rout Cleveland Cavaliers
By Ryan Love
The Detroit Pistons (15-18) gashed the Cleveland Cavaliers (23-7) 106-90 at the Palace Monday night. This victory snaps the five game losing streak the Pistons had coming into the game.
The Detroit Pistons (15-18) dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers (23-7) playing without LeBron James 106-90 Monday night. Tobias Harris led all scorers with 21 points after coming off the bench for the second night in a row.
The Pistons defense thrived most of the night. The Cavs shot just 38 percent on the night from the floor, and had 22 forced turnovers. The Pistons have now scored a total of 62 points off 45 forced turnovers in their last two games.
The offense saw rare success from beyond the 3-point line as well. The Pistons tied their season-high with 16 made 3-pointers on 28 attempts.
As Stan Van Gundy pointed out at his postgame press conference, the Pistons struggled on shots closer to the basket. They shot just over 44 percent from the floor. However it is promising to see their shooters come alive from long-range against a fatigued Cavs team on the second night of a back-to-back.
Here are your player grades from Monday night’s win:
B. <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
A-. <a rel=. SG. Detroit Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
<a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS. C+
A-. Tobias Harris thrived coming off the bench for the second game in a row, scoring over 20 in both games. His 21 points led all scorers and was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Harris has been a menace against the Warriors and now the Cavs second units by creating his own shots at will. While he may still have all the skill of an NBA starter, Harris is a necessary addition to a Pistons bench that struggles to score consistently.. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS
C+. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
JON LEUER. B+. <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons
PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. C+. <a rel=
C. <a rel=. SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON
C. <a rel=. C. Detroit Pistons. AARON BAYNES
B+. Head coach Stan Van Gundy deserves credit for moving a player the caliber of Tobias Harris to the bench and sticking with it after Friday’s tough loss to the Warriors. The success of Jon Leuer in his new starting role and Harris off the bench has been the spark the team needed lately. Van Gundy said in his postgame press conference that he is not “going to go crazy” over the success of his new rotation, but said, “We did some things that we haven’t consistently done” against the Cavs that led to their success.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY
The Pistons will host the Milwaukee Bucks (14-15) Wednesday night at the Palace.