2023-24 Season | Game #20 | Cavs @ Pistons | Dec. 2, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Cavs hit the road with the first game in Detroit where the 2-17 Pistons have lost 16 straight games. There’s not much to be said and anyone who wants to stop reading here is certainly excused. The Pistons are in a death spiral.

These teams played in Cleveland two weeks ago and the Cavs, without Donovan Mitchell, prevailed by a 108-100 score. The Pistons had a mind boggling 18 offensive rebounds which kept the game fairly close. Fortunately the Pistons were just 9-for-35 on 3’s and committed 17 turnovers. The Cavs shot 51% overall and 43% on 3’s but took nine fewer shots than the Pistons thanks to all the offensive rebounds.

Two days ago the Pistons lost on the road to the Knicks by just six points, so they aren’t throwing in the towel. Cade Cunningham had 31 points. Cunningham is averaging 22.3 points and 7.1 assists. Nobody else on the Pistons is averaging more than 12 points. Cunningham has not been very efficient, shooting 41.6% from the field.

Detroit is 27th in scoring and 24th in scoring defense. They are second worst in turnovers per possession. The one thing they do very well offensively is rebounding where they rank 4th in offensive rebound percentage. The Cavs learned that very well in the first game so it will be interesting to see how they respond and whether they can avoid getting hammered on the defensive glass this time around.

The Cavs learned the hard way two days ago not to take anyone lightly as they were upset by the Trail Blazers. Darius Garland described their play as “lackadaisical”. If they play that way against the Pistons in Detroit they could easily be knocked off just like they were on Thursday.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Schedule loss.

Must win game.

This thread will be a Hatewatch.

Pistons will be thinking this is a game they could win to break their awful streak.

With no LeVert will the Cavalier go to a seven man rotation with just Okoro and Niang off the bench?

Difficult game to predict. We should win easily but who knows.

 

[ticon12389]

Bojan coming back might actually inspire them to play well

 

[wuck]

Very disappointing that a game against the team on pace for the worst record in nba history is a referendum on whether we should fire the coach. This should have been an easy win most fans skip where porter, bates, and a tenth man get minutes to see whether they can possibly contribute in the playoffs. I am thinking of blocking @KevinLoveFan because of the frequent posts about okc’s young coach playing 11-13 players, sometimes in the first half.

I imagine we will know early today whether the pistons see this as winnable and force our team to run out 7 players plus porter for 2 mins. Or whether it is a complete joke of a game which just pushes the coaching issue forward for another few days and extends the misery.

I love the cavs and want them to get stronger for the playoffs this year and the next few seasons. So I have mixed feelings (at the most generous) about how I hope things go tonight. I feel a lot like those pictures the cavs posted about what look like the most depressed and dysfunctional team traveling to Detroit.

p.s. bud (or another coach who has won something) now or jordi later please

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

I hope the Cavs lose so we can cut this coach already. Sorry for my current fandom

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I expect the Cavs to bounce back after the humiliating loss to Portland. The Cavs had a team meeting after the game and the players were talking about how that game needs to be a turning point in their season, how they need to stop "messing around with the game" and get better at putting opponents away once they get a lead rather than screwing around and letting him get back into it.

We'll see about that tonight.

LeVert is out with a sore knee as a previous poster noted. That might explain why he was so ineffective against Portland (2-for-9 and a -17 in 26 minutes). My question for JBB is why did he play over half the game if his knee was bothering him and causing him to be all but useless?

Ethan Sands of cleveland.com reported that Bogdan Bogdanovich will make his season debut tonight. Bogdan is a 6'7" small forward who averaged 21.6 points last year on 49% from the field and 41% on 3's. He's 34 but can still stroke it with the best of them. If he gets hot - look out. This is a guy the Cavs might want to consider trading for if he wasn't owed $19 million next year.

Since the Cavs beat the Pistons 108-100 two weeks ago the Pistons added Bogdanovich while the Cavs lost LeVert and added Donovan Mitchell. Donovan said after the Portland loss that the Cavs will learn from that and come out with a different attitude. Well, that needs to start tonight.

Also, Garland took some scathing criticism from Chris Fedor for his "reckless nonchalance" in committing eight turnovers against Portland. Fedor also said Garland "didn't learn a thing" about valuing each possession from the playoff beatdown by the Knicks. That was the first time I've seen Fedor really light into a Cavs' player, basically calling him stupid, reckless, and nonchalant in his play.

It will be interesting to see how Garland responds.

The Cavaliers better come out with their hair on fire and pound the crap out of the 2-17 Pistons. I want to see a substantial halftime lead that gets extended in the third quarter. If not, we have a big problem because the next five games are brutal.

This game is basically a dress rehearsal to get ready for the Orlando/Miami/Boston gauntlet that is coming up next. The Cavs need a really solid game to get some momentum and confidence going into maybe the toughest five-game stretch of the season.

 

[Cassity14]

I'm rooting for the Pistons tonight because I 100% believe a loss results in JB getting fired.

Addition by subtraction at this point.

 

[Rich]

They're not losing this game.

100% the Cavs will win juuust enough games to keep JBB on the rest of the season, get smoked in the postseason, and then he'll get fired.

A whole 2 off-seasons to late.

Mark this down.

 

[eChameleon]

Sad part is, even in the unlikely chance we do lose tonight, I'm still not sure that would be enough to give JB the boot.

 

[Otsego Mar]

I hope the Cavs lose so we can cut this coach already. Sorry for my current fandom

Prediction: Cavs win and you continue to be frustrated. JBB will receive little praise for the win.

 

[Phil Mixtape]

Sure would be nice if CPJ can get some run tonight . . .

 

[shoes22]

Sure would be nice if CPJ can get some run tonight . . .

No LeVert tonight, so it would take a meteor shower for CPJ to not get minutes tonight.

 

[shoes22]

Prediction: Cavs win and you continue to be frustrated. JBB will receive little praise for the win.

I think deep down we all know this is what's going to happen.

 

[foucault87]

They're not losing this game.

100% the Cavs will win juuust enough games to keep JBB on the rest of the season, get smoked in the postseason, and then he'll get fired.

A whole 2 off-seasons to late.

Mark this down.

I really really hope you are wrong on ghe keeping jbb part

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Bogdanovich is listed at 6'7", 226 and he's 34 years old. I have to believe that whoever he's guarding, including Okoro, will be able to blow by him. On defense they have to force him off the 3-point line.