Coming off a big win over an injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder squad, the Detroit Pistons have another tough game on the schedule against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, though the squad visiting Little Caesars Arena might fall under a similar shorthanded status.

Since coming back from the All-Star Break, Pistons center Jalen Duren has played some of his best basketball all season, and Detroit rode another dominant effort from JD to an eight-point victory over the Thunder on Wednesday. Duren, who posted 29 points and 15 rebounds, continued his dominant streak of three consecutive contests with at least 25 points and 13 boards. 

But following the adage that iron sharpens iron, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham kept pace from a scoring perspective with 29 points of his own while dishing out 13 assists on the side. Together, Cunningham and Duren accounted for over 45% of the Pistons’ offense against the Western Conference’s top team to push Detroit to 43-13 on the season, winners of six out of their last seven. For context, the Pistons currently hold a 7.5 game edge over the Cavs for the Central Division lead. 

Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks two nights ago, the Cavs have been one of the hotter teams since the All-Star Break and have won eight of their last 10 games overall. In essence, the acquisition of James Harden ahead of the deadline helped the Cavs’ offense raise its ceiling, and the 11-time All-Star has meshed well with Donovan Mitchell so far. 

Against the Bucks, though, neither Mitchell nor Harden were in the lineup, so Jarrett Allen shouldered more of the offensive load than normal with a 27-point, 11-rebound performance in the 118-116 loss. Former Pistons guard Dennis Schroder stepped into the starting lineup for the Cavs as well and made a splash with 26 points, but the Bucks hit key shots down the stretch to pull ahead at the final buzzer. 

From a team perspective, the Cavs rank No. 4 in the NBA for points per game, so offensive productivity hasn’t been an issue all season. But on defense, Cleveland falls to No. 12 in the league, so they have a tendency to be exploited by high-level offenses. But from a head-to-head sense, the Pistons have split their season series against the Cavs so far with one win apiece.

In terms of availability, Isaiah Stewart is the only major absence from the Pistons’ perspective as the defensive force continues to serve the remainder of his seven-game suspension. Stewart will have to sit out one more game after tonight before returning to action. 

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have a rash of injuries to contend with at the moment with Mitchell battling a groin issue that will sideline him for tonight’s game. Additionally, Harden has a fracture in his right thumb, but he’s listed as questionable and appears determined to play through the injury. Schroder, Keon Ellis and Dean Wade are all listed as questionable to play, while Max Struss (foot surgery) and Riley Minix (G-League) will be unavailable for tonight’s contest. 

Last time out against the Thunder, Duren continued his torrid run of form after competing in the All-Star Game with another strong 29-point double-double. At the break, Duren spoke about how he felt increasingly motivated to perform at a high level, and harnessing that internal impetus is a facet that Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has worked with him on. 

“He’s grown in so many different ways,” Bickerstaff said after beating the Thunder 124-116. “His understanding in how important it is for him to dominate the paint for our team. It’s a selfless thing but it’s extremely difficult to do because of the physicality, because of the contact that he has to go through every single night, every possession. Defensively, the same thing. The battles that he goes through on the defensive boards for us, there’s guys grabbing his chest, grabbing his jersey, pulling him down, but he understands how important it is for us to finish possessions, and he fights through all that and goes through and gets it done. Offensively, his ability to attack in different ways has come a long way. Like it used to be pick and roll, lob. Now, he can catch it, make moves, attack, finish so many different ways that defenses, again, have to make tough decisions.” 

When Duren is attacking the paint and looking for his shot, the Pistons are difficult to stop. JD commands so much attention with his athleticism and the ever-present lob threat that teams are forced to help and double-team, which opens up shots on the perimeter for the likes of Duncan Robinson to knock down long-range looks when called upon. 

If Harden is healthy enough to play tonight, he will be the most dangerous player on the court for Cleveland by a healthy margin. But since arriving to the Cavs’ squad, Harden has appeared more willing to defer to Mitchell when both are in the lineup. The Cavs won’t have that luxury tonight with Mitchell battling a groin ailment, so perhaps Harden will ratchet up his volume for tonight’s Central Division showdown.

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