Pistons vs. Cavs preview: Beef Stew is back!

The Pistons take on the Cavaliers again after a thrilling win over them at home on Friday. This time the Pistons will have reinforcements as Isaiah Stewart returns from his 7-game suspension from the fight against the Charlotte Hornets before the All Star Break. During that time, the Pistons went 6-1 with their only loss against the San Antonio Spurs, but they will definitely welcome him back with open arms.

When these two teams squared off last time, the Pistons got very lucky. They faced a short-handed Cavaliers team who were very much up for the challenge. It looked like the Pistons had no shot at winning until a couple of lucky bounces late in the 4th and then a heady play by Daniss Jenkins to draw a 3-point shooting foul on an intentional foul led to overtime where the Pistons were able to seal the deal.

There were some reports that came out after the game about how the Cavaliers are not afraid of the Pistons come playoff time, so it will be interesting to see how the Pistons respond if at all.

Game Vitals

Where: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH
When: Tuesday, March 3 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-2.5)

Analysis

In the last matchup, the Pistons were able to avoid facing James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, as both players were out with an injury. Harden is back, but Mitchell will still be out, so the Pistons luck out a little bit once again. However, as the Cavs proved in the last game, their backups are ready for the test and are more than capable of keeping them in the game against the best team in the East.

Their guards did a great job of creating dribble penetration which led to some easy baskets for Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, although a lot of his shots came from the perimeter. Luckily for the Pistons, they will have Isaiah Stewart to help with protecting the rim. Paul Reed has done a more than admirable job filling in for Stewart during his suspension, but he isn’t quite the rim presence that Isaiah Stewart is. That will be important, with James Harden being back, as he loves to create space off the dribble and then throw lobs to his big men.

With Harden back, the Cavs now have the offensive punch that they need to hold a lead if they build one like last game, so the Pistons will need to have a better 2nd half than they did on Friday.

One players that did not struggle in the 2nd half is the newest Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Jalen Duren, who the Cavaliers had no answer for. He didn’t have an answer for Jarrett Allen either, but Duren ended the game with 33 point and 16 rebounds, but more importantly, carried the team after Cade Cunningham fouled out with a few minutes left in the 4th.

Ausar Thompson was also fantastic in that game with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Pistons will need him today to slow down James Harden, unless they opt to put him on Sam Merrill, who the Pistons didn’t really have an answer for until late in Friday’s game.

It would not surprise me if JB Bickerstaff opts to put Ausar Thompson on Merrill since he is the best at fighting through screens and chasing players off-ball while Cade Cunningham can at least stay in front of James Harden and match his size. With Donovan Mitchell out, the Pistons have the luxury of being able to matchup this way since they would not be able to get away with if Mitchell was playing.

One more thing to watch out for will be Jaylon Tyson on Cade Cunningham. He didn’t really shutdown Cade or anything, but he did do a good job of pressuring him and baiting him into some fouls which ultimately led to him fouling out of the game. I would not be surprised if he does more of the same tonight.

This will be the last matchup between these two teams, but they very well could matchup in the 2nd round of the playoffs if both teams do what they are supposed to do. This will now be the 2nd game of the season for the Pistons against this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they were not at full strength in either matchup, so it won’t determine much about how these two teams potentially matchup.

Lineups

Cleveland Cavaliers (38-24): James Harden, Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Detroit Pistons (45-14): Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Question of the Day

Should the Pistons still try to find minutes for Paul Reed with the return of Isaiah Stewart given how well he played?