The Detroit Pistons only have one name on their injury report for game one of their second round battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Who has the edge in this 2nd round battle?
As soon as the Detroit Pistons shifted from regular season mode into the playoffs, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made the prudent decision to significantly shorten his team’s bench on the precipice of crunch-time basketball. During Detroit’s seven-game win over the Orlando Magic, the Pistons often went with nine and 10-man rotations as opposed to the 12 or 13-man substitution patterns that were commonplace during their 60-win regular season.
Most often, second-year forward Ron Holland has been left out of the action with multiple DNPs during round one, but even Paul Reed sat on the bench for entire games at a time versus Orlando. On one hand, Detroit’s tighter bench shows the difference between the 82-game campaign and the postseason, but the Pistons’ reserves have been a strength of the squad all year long, so in theory the group should be well-prepared if injury trouble arises.
Along those lines, the Pistons have done a good job of staying mostly healthy ahead of their second round battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is set to tip-off later tonight at 7 pm. During the first round, Tobias Harris was listed as questionable on the injury report later in the series, but the veteran pushed through and contributed mightily despite his temporary discomfort, and he’ll be ready to go for tonight’s contest after dropping 30 points in game seven versus Orlando.
One injury that has carried over from the Pistons-Magic seven-game battle belongs to Kevin Huerter, who is currently working through a strained left adductor. Huerter has been held out of multiple games now, and he’s listed as questionable for game one tonight against Detroit’s Central Division rivals, so the pre-game shootaround should be quite telling in terms of Red Velvet’s availability.
During the regular season, Huerter averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, but the eighth-year wing has looked more comfortable and fluid the more time that he spends in a Pistons uniform. Before Huerter left game four against the Magic after just three minutes, the veteran sharp-shooter was connecting on three-point looks at a 40% clip, and he hovered near that mark during the final five regular season games in April with a 38.5% rate from long-range in those affairs. So, the Pistons will miss Huerter’s progression as a perimeter threat in their offense if he’s unable to suit up for tonight’s home game at Little Caesars Arena.
On the Cavs’ side of the matchup, Cleveland does not have any injuries to report at the moment, so the Pistons will be taking on a squad full of momentum after their own game seven victory but one that will be at full strength from a health perspective as well.
In the backcourt, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are expected to handle the majority of the playmaking duties for the Cavs, but the Pistons are no stranger to backup point guard Dennis Schroder after his short stint in Motown. Schroder is a pesky, high-energy floor general who will be more than up to the task of facing his former team, so look for his battles with Cade Cunningham when they arise. Earlier in the regular season, Schroder seemed to revel in his competition when matched up with the All-Star during Pistons-Cavs games, so this playoff series should bring out a similar level of gusto for the former teammates.
In the front court, the Cavs have a two-man assortment of bigs in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley that both patrol the paint with punishing intent on the defensive end while doing their best to control the boards and generate second-chance looks on the offensive side of the court. Allen and Mobley were both crucial for the Cavs in the latter portion of their first round series against the Toronto Raptors, and they’ll factor heavily into the paint battles with Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart and potentially Paul Reed in the second round.
One question that still exists is how effective Donovan Mitchell will be while under the watchful eye of Ausar Thompson on defense after the prolific scorer was injured for Cleveland’s two most recent games against Detroit during the regular season.
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