Pistons desperate in Game 2 at Cleveland Cavaliers
Pistons desperate in Game 2 at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 1 of this series was almost like watching a cat play with a mouse just before dining on the rodent as the Cleveland Cavaliers came away with a 102-84 win over the Pistons. It was the 40th win in 42 home games for LeBron James and the Cavs this season and it sends Detroit into Game 2 desperate for a win to have any hope. TNT has the broadcast from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland with an 8:05 p.m. tip.
What are the Cleveland Cavaliers going to do for an encore?
The Cavs (67-16 SU, 51-32 ATS) are threatening to run away with their first-round NBA playoff series against the Detroit Pistons (39-44 SU, 34-49 ATS). Game 1 was a thing of beauty for Cleveland supporters; LeBron James flirted with another triple-double, scoring 38 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in a 102-84 final. The Cavs (-11½) took a 12-point lead into the dressing room and kept Detroit at arm’s length before pulling away in the middle of the fourth.
The early betting odds for Tuesday’s Game 2 (8:00 p.m. Eastern, TNT) at Quicken Loans Arena had Cleveland laying 11 points with a total of 177½, up one point from the opener. Do the Pistons have what it takes to put together a bounce-back effort and at least cover the spread? Perhaps; their previous meeting at the Q saw Detroit (+10) get paid after a 79-73 defeat. But that was with Allen Iverson coming off the bench.
The absence of AI is the sticking point for Pistons supporters. Detroit’s decline this year can be directly traced to the trade that featured point guard Chauncey Billups (18.8 PER in 2008-09) going to the Denver Nuggets and Iverson (15.9 PER) joining the Pistons. This trade wasn’t a failure by any means – even at the point of transaction, this was seen as a salary-cap decision and an opportunity for Rodney Stuckey (14.8 PER) to speed up his development at the 1-spot. Both of those remain true. The personnel problem with Iverson and Richard Hamilton (16.9 PER) both wanting to start at shooting guard was entirely expected.
That doesn’t mean the Pistons are better off with Iverson on the sidelines nursing a bad back. Even in the worst year of his 13-year career, here’s some of what AI gave Detroit every 36 minutes he spent on the floor: 17.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals. That’s a stronger than average performance. And nobody can accuse Iverson of not playing with heart. The Pistons seemed to have the best of both worlds in that brief three-game window where he rejoined the lineup and came off the bench – which included the aforementioned cover against the Cavs on Mar. 31.
Now the Detroit bench is being tested by one of the deepest and most talented teams in the league. Former Pistons lynchpin Ben Wallace is back in the Cleveland lineup, playing 12 effective minutes in the paint and posting a plus-2 on the day. Free-agent reacquisition Joe Smith scored 13 points off the bench in 19 minutes, and Daniel Gibson was plus-13 while hitting two of his three shots in 14 minutes. Detroit’s bench put in a game effort (Kwame Brown had nine boards in 16 minutes) but finished a combined minus-4 against the Cavs.
Bench play is one of the big giveaways when figuring out which team is the better value in an NBA game. Detroit’s starting five may have a similar shine to the 2004 champions, but there’s a lot of rust hiding underneath that coat of paint. Casual bettors got burned supporting the Pistons brand this year – only Toronto (33-47-2 ATS) and Washington (31-49-2 ATS) were less profitable in the East. Cleveland, meanwhile, finished the regular season as the top money team in the entire league. The Cavs are 13-7 ATS this year when favored by at least 11 points.
Cleveland also has something else Detroit doesn’t: LeBron James. The mainstream storyline for this series is how James is taking over the playoffs in what is expected to be his first MVP season. Now that LeBron has become one of the top contenders for Defensive Player of the Year in addition to his playmaking and scoring, his name is openly being spoken in the same breath as Michael Jordan. The Cavs are even money to win the NBA title and appear destined to face the L.A. Lakers (4-5) in the Finals. They’re on a mission.
Game 1 of this series was almost like watching a cat play with a mouse just before dining on the rodent as the Cleveland Cavaliers came away with a 102-84 win over the Pistons. It was the 40th win in 42 home games for LeBron James and the Cavs this season and it sends Detroit into Game 2 desperate for a win to have any hope. TNT has the broadcast from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland with an 8:05 p.m. tip.
What are the Cleveland Cavaliers going to do for an encore?
The Cavs (67-16 SU, 51-32 ATS) are threatening to run away with their first-round NBA playoff series against the Detroit Pistons (39-44 SU, 34-49 ATS). Game 1 was a thing of beauty for Cleveland supporters; LeBron James flirted with another triple-double, scoring 38 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in a 102-84 final. The Cavs (-11½) took a 12-point lead into the dressing room and kept Detroit at arm’s length before pulling away in the middle of the fourth.
The early betting odds for Tuesday’s Game 2 (8:00 p.m. Eastern, TNT) at Quicken Loans Arena had Cleveland laying 11 points with a total of 177½, up one point from the opener. Do the Pistons have what it takes to put together a bounce-back effort and at least cover the spread? Perhaps; their previous meeting at the Q saw Detroit (+10) get paid after a 79-73 defeat. But that was with Allen Iverson coming off the bench.
The absence of AI is the sticking point for Pistons supporters. Detroit’s decline this year can be directly traced to the trade that featured point guard Chauncey Billups (18.8 PER in 2008-09) going to the Denver Nuggets and Iverson (15.9 PER) joining the Pistons. This trade wasn’t a failure by any means – even at the point of transaction, this was seen as a salary-cap decision and an opportunity for Rodney Stuckey (14.8 PER) to speed up his development at the 1-spot. Both of those remain true. The personnel problem with Iverson and Richard Hamilton (16.9 PER) both wanting to start at shooting guard was entirely expected.
That doesn’t mean the Pistons are better off with Iverson on the sidelines nursing a bad back. Even in the worst year of his 13-year career, here’s some of what AI gave Detroit every 36 minutes he spent on the floor: 17.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals. That’s a stronger than average performance. And nobody can accuse Iverson of not playing with heart. The Pistons seemed to have the best of both worlds in that brief three-game window where he rejoined the lineup and came off the bench – which included the aforementioned cover against the Cavs on Mar. 31.
Now the Detroit bench is being tested by one of the deepest and most talented teams in the league. Former Pistons lynchpin Ben Wallace is back in the Cleveland lineup, playing 12 effective minutes in the paint and posting a plus-2 on the day. Free-agent reacquisition Joe Smith scored 13 points off the bench in 19 minutes, and Daniel Gibson was plus-13 while hitting two of his three shots in 14 minutes. Detroit’s bench put in a game effort (Kwame Brown had nine boards in 16 minutes) but finished a combined minus-4 against the Cavs.
Bench play is one of the big giveaways when figuring out which team is the better value in an NBA game. Detroit’s starting five may have a similar shine to the 2004 champions, but there’s a lot of rust hiding underneath that coat of paint. Casual bettors got burned supporting the Pistons brand this year – only Toronto (33-47-2 ATS) and Washington (31-49-2 ATS) were less profitable in the East. Cleveland, meanwhile, finished the regular season as the top money team in the entire league. The Cavs are 13-7 ATS this year when favored by at least 11 points.
Cleveland also has something else Detroit doesn’t: LeBron James. The mainstream storyline for this series is how James is taking over the playoffs in what is expected to be his first MVP season. Now that LeBron has become one of the top contenders for Defensive Player of the Year in addition to his playmaking and scoring, his name is openly being spoken in the same breath as Michael Jordan. The Cavs are even money to win the NBA title and appear destined to face the L.A. Lakers (4-5) in the Finals. They’re on a mission.