Cavaliers at Pistons Preview

Cavaliers ( 35-22) @ Pistons (23-33)

The Cavaliers must have used that All-Star break to their fullest advantage, because since the break they have steamrolled every team that they’ve faced. Although, playing that high school bunch from New York doesn’t really count. Even though only two games have been played since coming back, the Cavaliers have won both by a combined 56 points. Coming into Tuesday’s contest, the Cavaliers look to continue their rampage of the NBA with a divisional matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Detroit, which at one point was a team playing the hottest basketball around the league, has come back to earth, and is playing at a near-.500 pace in recent weeks. Although 6-4 in their last 10, Detroit could pass up many teams and move up to the 8th seed or better. The bright spot over the trade deadline for the Pistons was picking up former Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson.

Here are some things you need to know before watching:

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons – Palace of Auburn Hills

Game start 7:30 P.M. Cavs TV- FSO. Pistons Tv- FS Detroit

Projected Starting Lineups

Cavaliers:

PG: Kyrie Irving: 21.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.3 RPG, 46.8 % FG

SG: J.R. Smith: 11.9 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.7 RPG, 41.3 % FG

SF: LeBron James: 25.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.6 RPG, 48.9 % FG

PF: Kevin Love: 16.8 PPG, 2.3 APG, 10.4 RPG, 43.0 % FG

C: Timofey Mozgov: 9.2 PPG, 0.5 APG, 7.9 RPG, 53.9 % FG

Pistons:

PG: Reggie Jackson: 12.9 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.0 RPG, 43.1 % FG

SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 12.2 PPG, 1.1 APG, 3.1 RPG, 40.0 % FG

SF: Caron Butler: 5.9 PPG, 0.9 APG, 2.8 RPG, 39.1 % FG

PF: Greg Monroe: 15.4 PPG, 2.0 APG, 10.4 RPG, 49.2 % FG

C: Andre Drummond: 12.8 PPG, 0.6 APG, 13.0 RPG, 50.1 % FG

Matchup to watch for:

A matchup of which we’ve seen only once: the big men down low. As of late, Timofey Mozgov and Andre Drummond are two of the bigger rim protectors in the league. Drummond, one of the league’s leading rebounders, will look to bounce back this time around against the Cavaliers after being completely locked down last time these two clashed. Besides being dominated in the rebounding category, Drummond was held to 6-17 shooting with 12 points against the Cavs.

One of the main reasons that Drummond won’t be able to dominate in the paint this time around is Mozgov. Look for Timo to lock down the young center. Although Mozgov will be able to offensively slow down the work horse that is Drummond, don’t look to see Mozgov eliminate Drummond ‘s rebounds entirely.

Injury Report

Cavaliers: