2023-24 Season | Game #45 | Pistons @ Cavs | Jan. 31, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.

[Wham with the Right Hand]

A narrow escape against a team that's better than its record and was on fire tonight, shooting 55.6% overall and 51.6% on 3's against the league's best defense over the last two months. Detroit's bench put up 58 points, led by Gallinari, who is their 3rd string power forward, but with Stewart out and Muscala injured after just four minutes, the 35-year-old Gallinari came in and scored 20 points on 8 shots - incredible! There was no stopping him.

The Pistons' veterans really shined tonight. In addition to Gallinari there was the 34-year-old Bogdanovic with 17 points and Alec Burks with 11 off the bench. The Cavs had 66 points in the paint to 44 for Detroit, but the Pistons' amazing 3-point shooting kept them in it.

Mitchell was incredible in the 4th quarter as he carried the Cavs over the finish line on his back. The key was four straight stops in the final two minutes by the Cavs after Detroit had owned them all night. With the Cavs leading by 2 and just 2:18 to go, Bogdanovic and Burks missed 3's, there was a shot clock violation, and Cunningham missed a layup. That was the end for Detroit.

I can see why the Pistons lost three games to Milwaukee and Minnesota all by fewer than 10 points. They are a terrific offensive team. Not so good defensively, but I still don't see how this team lost all those games in a row.

Garland looked really good, like he never was out. 19 points and 3 assists in 20 minutes with a couple of steals thrown in. Mobley OTOH...

Good win even though the defense could have been a lot better. But the Pistons were making a lot of tough shots, even shooting 3's out of rhythm.

 

[boostorbust1]

What it looks like to me is Pistons are way better than their record

 

[Lee]

My only rotational complaint was that Strus played the bulk of the 4th quarter without contributing much on either end.

I am a huge Strus fan, but this is 100% dead on. He was off tonight, deep team, next man up time. Wade could of seen some SF minutes this game, atleast Wade was a beast on defense tonight.

 

[jjvors]

I found this video of Mitchell highlights. Enjoy!

 

[kookoo]

Garland is an incredible player but the combo of Garland and Mitchell doesn't work the same way Dame and CJ didn't work. It's slightly better IMO but not by much. Especially with out starting lineup not being great at spacing.

 

[boostorbust1]

Garland is an incredible player but the combo of Garland and Mitchell doesn't work the same way Dame and CJ didn't work. It's slightly better IMO but not by much. Especially with out starting lineup not being great at spacing.

Yup, most agree with you. So you gotta trade garland right?

 

[cliffdawg]

Anyone that thinks this game was close to a lost because of Garland and Mobley didn’t watch the game , Detroit probably had there best 3 point shooting all season all they did was hit 51% of those shots, and honestly there young players are going to be a problem in the near future, Cade is a stud, and Ivey is finding his game……

 

[MirORich]

Anyone that thinks this game was close to a lost because of Garland and Mobley didn’t watch the game , Detroit probably had there best 3 point shooting all season all they did was hit 51% of those shots, and honestly there young players are going to be a problem in the near future, Cade is a stud, and Ivey is finding his game……

It’s fair to think the rest of the regular season and next playoffs might tell a more complete picture of the fit of the starting backcourt but it’s way premature to say that after garlands first game back. Or even based off last year. The roster is different with far more shooters in the rotation, And not all the ways Mitchell is playing different are solely just because Garland was out.

Cavs front court defense is also significantly different then anything Portland ever had in the Dame/CJ era.

 

[Prof123]

Anyone that thinks this game was close to a lost because of Garland and Mobley didn’t watch the game , Detroit probably had there best 3 point shooting all season all they did was hit 51% of those shots, and honestly there young players are going to be a problem in the near future, Cade is a stud, and Ivey is finding his game……

and you think it is a coincidence that they had their best shooting game of the season when Garland and Mobley returned to our lineup? A few of those shots were tough, but they had a lot of wide open looks. Garland scored 19 points in 22 minutes and his +/- was -16. That should say something about the team defense in the minutes he played. I'm not saying it was all his fault -- I'd have to rewatch the game to assign blame -- but our perimeter defense was not good tonight.

 

[MirORich]

and you think it is a coincidence that they had their best shooting game of the season when Garland and Mobley returned to our lineup? A few of those shots were tough, but they had a lot of wide open looks. Garland score 19 points in 22 minutes and his +/- was -16. That should say something about the team defense in the minutes he played. I'm not saying it was all his fault -- I'd have to rewatch the game to assign blame -- but our perimeter defense was not good tonight.

Garlands first game back after 6 weeks out

Mobleys second game back after 6 weeks out

Allen sick and barely ate anything all day

Several new rotation combos and durations as a result

Communication thus naturally not as dialed in as it had been for a few weeks and communication is the key lifeline of fundamental team defense

Pistons reverting to more vet minutes and less of guys like Wiseman, Hayes, and other younger dudes.

All big factors that deserve acknowledgement, consideration, and patience imo

 

[Kuiper]

World B. Free had 22 games of 35 or more in 4 seasons with the Cavs. If he had played with a 3 point line and the types of fouls called on drives to the basket, he would have been on this list.

 

[boostorbust1]

I agree with the patience but it’s a repeat of what happened in the past, with Garland and Mitchell together on the floor we made mediocre shooting teams look like superstars, that is exactly what happened tonight.

 

[Pierre Pan]

and you think it is a coincidence that they had their best shooting game of the season when Garland and Mobley returned to our lineup? A few of those shots were tough, but they had a lot of wide open looks. Garland score 19 points in 22 minutes and his +/- was -16. That should say something about the team defense in the minutes he played. I'm not saying it was all his fault -- I'd have to rewatch the game to assign blame -- but our perimeter defense was not good tonight.

Some valid points, but Strus lost Bogdonovich several times who knocked down 4 triples; and neither DG nor Donovan were guarding Gallinari at any point and he tossed in 4 more out of 4 to score 20 points

 

[MirORich]

I agree with the patience but it’s a repeat of what happened in the past, with Garland and Mitchell together on the floor we made mediocre shooting teams look like superstars, that is exactly what happened tonight.

Genuine question, I’m not arguing for the sake of it, didn’t someone (@KI4MVP ?) post several stats and metrics that countered the argument of DG/DM combo being bad defensively or the Cavs being bad defensively when they’re both on the floor?

Not sure what thread it was in, but seemed to build a strong stat based argument worth seeing/reading since sometimes anecdotal outliers can stick in our memories longer

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Garlands first game back after 6 weeks out

Mobleys second game back after 6 weeks out

Allen sick and barely ate anything all day

Several new rotation combos and durations as a result

Communication thus naturally not as dialed in as it had been for a few weeks and communication is the key lifeline of fundamental team defense

Pistons reverting to more vet minutes and less of guys like Wiseman, Hayes, and other younger dudes.

All big factors that deserve acknowledgement, consideration, and patience imo

This pretty much nailed it, especially the part about the new rotations and player combinations. Trying to introduce two new players right on top of each other instead of separated by a week or two is challenging.

The good news is the Cavs have 37 games to figure out the best combinations before the playoffs start.

And yeah, playing 30-something vets like Boggie, Burks, and Gallinari really helped them. I think they are showcasing all these guys ahead of the trade deadline, hoping to turn them into draft picks. Combining these savvy vets with the best of the young crop like Cade and Duren puts a decent team on the floor, especially on offense.

The Cavs scored 64 points each half and 128 total. Nobody can complain about that. It was the defense that was deficient, partly due to new player combinations and partly due to an exceptional shooting night by the Pistons. They were knocking down 3's off pump fakes and off balance, even when contested. Detroit came in shooting 35.3% on 3's, ranking 25th. Tonight they hit over 51%.