Detroit Pistons host Cleveland Cavaliers for final time at the Palace
By David Topham
The Detroit Pistons host the Cleveland Cavaliers for the final time (at least during the regular season) at the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Detroit Pistons (31-33) host the Cleveland Cavaliers (42-20) tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. It will be the final time the Cavs, who own the best record in the Eastern Conference, visit the Palace of Auburn Hills. That is, unless these two meet up again in the playoffs.
The Cavs will play without Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, and Andrew Bogut, but they’ll still have the upper hand because (a) they are much better than Detroit, and (b) the Pistons are playing on the second night of a back-to-back — they were “destroyed” (Stan Van Gundy’s words) by the Pacers last night, 115-98.
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Detroit’s struggles on zero days rest have been well documented on this site. They’re 2-9 this season on the second game of a back-to-back, the most recent loss being an ugly 109-86 defeat at the hands of the DeMarcus Cousins-less New Orleans Pelicans. Their defense takes a step back and their offense falls off a cliff in these games.
Still, notwithstanding last night and the Pelicans debacle, the Pistons have been playing well for a while now. They’re 10-6 over their last 16 games and posted a 2.3 net rating as team in February. In the seven games since the All-Star break, Detroit is scoring 106.4 points per 100 possessions, which is up from their season-long average of 104.0.
And, before last night, they’ve also been one of the NBA’s most impressive defensive teams since the start of February.
Best Defensive Ratings since Feb. 1:
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) March 8, 2017
1. Spurs — 96.5
2. Jazz — 101.6
3. Pistons — 102.7
4. Mavs — 103.1
5. Warriors — 103.3
6. Heat — 103.5
The Pistons bench core of Tobias Harris, Ish Smith, Stanley Johnson, and Aron Baynes have a lot to do with that. And Stan Van Gundy’s plan of running Reggie Jackson for the first six minutes of each quarter and Smith for the last six, then finishing with the hot hand, has been working out well.
But the second night of a back-to-back factor won’t be doing them any favors tonight, especially against a team of Cleveland’s caliber. However, the Cavs come in reeling. They’ve lost four of their last six games and they’re giving up an abysmal 116.9 points per 100 possessions in those games.
This is either good news for the Pistons, or extremely bad news – because a LeBron James-led team only stays in a funk for so long. Or, we could be finally starting to see the effects of Love’s absence (Cavs are 5-4 since losing him). Love was having, inarguably, his best season as a Cavalier and, arguably, the best of his career before going under the knife in mid-February.
This will be the third meeting between Cleveland and Detroit this season — the Cavs routed the Pistons in November and Detroit returned the favor on the day after Christmas while James rested. The grudge match tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET from the Palace of Auburn Hills.
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Status notes: Baynes is questionable after spraining his right ankle last night, while Cleveland’s J.R. Smith is also listed as questionable. Smith has been out since December 21 with a thumb injury but was cleared to resume basketball activities on Wednesday.