Previewing Cavs opponents: Pistons
Cavs news and links for Monday, September 23.
We’re one week away from Cleveland Cavaliers media day. Here’s your news and links of the day.
The first sip
New Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is inheriting a team that has failed to break the 25-win barrier since 2018-19. A lack of talent isn’t the only reason why that’s the case. The Pistons need a complete culture change.
Bickerstaff provided that in Cleveland. The franchise lacked accountability and a path forward before he took over. That changed under his watch as his team took a step further every year during his tenure. Adding talent nearly every season helped and shouldn’t be overlooked. Repeating that formula in Detroit could prove to be a more daunting due to their mismatching pieces.
The roster fit issues that plagued Bickerstaff’s offenses in Cleveland will be a bigger problem in Detroit due to their worse spacing and lack of explosive players. The Pistons are expected to start Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, Tobias Harris, and Jalen Duren. This could be one of the worst shooting opening unit in the league.
Their projected starting backcourt of Cunningham and Thompson combined to go 29.9% from deep on 7.1 attempts per game last year. Both numbers are considerably lower than ideal. On top of that, Duran has only taken six threes in his career. Fontecchio and Harris won’t be able to solve those concerns as the only shooters opponents will somewhat respect.
Improving defensively would be their simplest path to picking up more wins in the short term. It’s also where Bickerstaff’s teams have historically hung their hats as he mentioned in his introductory press conference in July.
“If you don’t have a strong defensive foundation, your team is going to struggle to take the steps and build in the direction you want to go,” said Bickerstaff. “You can talk about offense all you want, but when you look at the elite teams in this league, they have two-way players and guys who take pride in defending the basketball.”
The problem is Detroit doesn’t have the pieces to take a drastic step forward on that side of the court like Bickerstaff’s Cavs teams did. The Pistons were 25th ranked defense last season (119.4 defensive rating). This was largely due to an inability to keep teams from getting to the rim (19th in frequency) and converting as opponents shot 68% in the restricted area (26th in the league).
Bickerstaff will do his best to change that, but he likely won’t be able to do much given what he has to work with. The same is true for an ill-fitting offensive team.
Although Bickerstaff could be the right person to turn the culture around in Detroit, this isn’t a team that will play to his strengths as a coach this upcoming season. They could still be a year or so away from breaking the 25-win barrier.
How the Cavs played the Pistons last season
The Cavs have won nine straight games against the Pistons. The last time they lost was Feb. 24, 2022, in a game the Cavs were forced to start Rajon Rondo because of their lack of healthy guards.
Cleveland won each meeting last year by eight or more points. The most meaningful game was their 108-100 victory in the group stage of the In-Season tournament last season. The Cavaliers dominated the first half but lost the second 55-49. This was important as the Cavs missed out on advancing to the knockout round due to their point differential.
Cavs vs. Pistons this season
- Home - Oct. 25, home opener
- Home - Jan. 27
- at Detroit - Feb. 5
- at Detroit - March 28
Notable players who played for both franchises
- Ben Wallace played a large role in Detroit’s most recent title and Cleveland’s best regular season team. Wallace started 56 games for the Cavs averaging 2.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2008-09.
- Bill Laimbeer was drafted in the third round by the Cavaliers in 1979. He played one and a half seasons with the team before being traded to Detroit where he was a part of the Pistons’ 1989 and ‘90 championship teams.
- Andre Drummond made two All-Stars teams with the Pistons before being dealt to the Cavs at the 2020 NBA trade deadline.