Cleveland rebounded from a Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat with a 98-89 come-from-behind victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday, as the Cavs have now won four of their last five games.
Detroit has struggled all season, but snapped a four game losing streak on Friday with a 119-109 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (18-11)
G Matthew Dellavedova – 3.6 ppg, 2.5 apg
G Mike Miller – 3.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg
F LeBron James – 25.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 7.6 apg
F Kevin Love – 17.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg
C Tristan Thompson– 8.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Detroit Pistons (6-23)
G Brandon Jennings – 9.0 ppg, 3.4 apg
G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – 12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F Kyle Singler – 13.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F Greg Monroe - 14.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
C Andre Drummond - 8.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg
What to watch for:
Who will step up for Cleveland?
Kyrie Irving will likely miss his second straight game with a left knee contusion - and even if he does play, he'll be extremely limited. That means someone else is going to have to step up and provide this team with a boost if they want to win this game. Look for Dion Waiters to see some extremely heavy minutes off the bench as he's the most likely candidate to help carry the offense.
Will Detroit's offense continue to flow without Josh Smith?
The Pistons waived forward Josh Smith earlier this week, paying him $26 million to NOT play for the team anymore. His propensity for shooting long mid-range jumpers and three-pointers, along with his overall inefficiency (39.1% shooting, 24.3% from three), made him expendable to head coach Stan Van Gundy.
In their only game since waiving him, Detroit moved the ball more than they had all season (25 assists) and shot over 54 percent from the field. If they continue to play team basketball to that extent, they have a chance to win this game.
Prediction: Cavs win 95-93
Cleveland needed a big fourth quarter from LeBron James to beat Orlando without Kyrie Irving, and I expect the Cavs' offense to struggle again. That being said, Detroit is one of the worst teams in the league for a reason, and I don't think they'll have enough to get over the top.
Be sure to follow our Cavs insider @brauf33 on Twitter and follow our Cleveland Cavaliers page for all the latest news!
RELATED ARTICLES
3 Possible Trade Targets For The Cleveland Cavaliers
Back to the Cleveland Cavaliers Newsfeed