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| Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images |
Let's go through the Cleveland Cavaliers game checklist:
Have a big lead after one quarter?
Cleveland came out with a ton of energy on both sides, shooting 52.4 percent from the field and limiting Detroit to just 16 points and taking a 12-point lead into the second quarter. Check.
Lose that big lead heading into halftime?
With a lead that was a big as 15 points in the first quarter, it was completely vanished heading into the break, trailing 50-47 after two quarters. Detroit would out-scored Cleveland 33-19 in the second quarter, including a 17-2 run by the Pistons. Check.
Let the game get out of hand in the third quarter?
The Cavaliers compounded a bad second quarter with a bad third quarter, having a three-point deficit stretch all the way out to 16, thanks in part to a 12-point quarter from Brandon Jennings, who seemingly hit everything he put up and looked as if he was donning an Oak Hill jersey instead of the current Pistons one he had on. Check.
Lose the game and consider it their worst loss of the season?
The Pistons had the fourth-worst record in the league, and they came into Cleveland and beat them by 23, so yeah, Check.
The first two have been the formula for nearly every game, and held true again tonight. The last two were virtually mirror images of the game against Atlanta.
Despite the formula that the Cavaliers have seemingly produced every night, it didn't help that Detroit had a franchise night, hitting a franchise record 17 3-pointers. What hurts even more surprising is that they are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league. Combine that with their own terrible shooting night (37.8 percent from the field) and LeBron James' worst performance of the year, there wasn't much the Cavaliers could do to win this game.
Three Things:
1. The Cavaliers needed depth, BAD.
There's no secret to this, but it was again evident in tonight's game. With Anderson Varejao out for the year and Kyrie Irving this game, they were forced to rely heavily on guys like Matthew Dellavedova, A.J. Price and Brenden Haywood, which would hurt them mightily. All three guys made minimal impact and couldn't help out a struggling LeBron. The question isn't if they will make a move, it's when and how soon will they do it? By all means, it could be very soon.
2. Is LeBron hurting the Cavs?
Before I say anything, I wanna make this clear: I WANT LEBRON ON THE CAVS. Now that I got that off my chest, there are some serious concerns with him on his attitude and his energy. He gets lazy on defense, makes some very questionable statements after losses and at times looks like he is minimizing head coach David Blatt. Of course, because he is who he is, he can get away with these things, but it doesn't help any other of the younger guys. Then honeymoon is over for LeBron and the Cavaliers, and he needs to start being accountable for his actions, or they will continue to have these type of outings.
3. The Pistons could be last year's Raptors team.
Just look at the similarities; both teams got rid of their best player (Rudy Gay and Josh Smith), who both happen to be very polarizing players and then look immediately better after the trade. The Raptors were 6-14 when they traded Gay, but would finish with the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons have one two straight since letting go of Smith, including tonight's beat down of the Cavaliers. Of course it's only been two games, but with a mixture of a good coach and solid talent, they will have a better record heading into the future.
Statline of the Game:
Andre Drummond: 16 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks, 8-of-12 shooting.
¯\_(ツ)_/
What's Next:
Dec. 30, on the road against the Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
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