The Detroit Pistons have a 2-1 lead headed into tonight’s second round matchup against the Cleveland Cavs
After taking command of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with two straight wins to open the series, the Detroit Pistons ran into a formidable Cleveland Cavs outfit on Saturday night that fought back with a 116-109 victory to push the matchup to 2-1 in the Motor City squad’s favor.
Now set for game four in Cleveland, the Pistons are working through multiple injuries that could serve to shorten their bench for tonight’s 8 pm tip-off. Right now, both Kevin Huerter and Caris LeVert are listed on Detroit’s injury report with the former continuing his recovery while the latter is working through a new ailment that popped up during game three.
Huerter, who was acquired from the Chicago Bulls just before the Trade Deadline, is still working through a left adductor strain that has held him out of the Cavs series so far. Initially, Huerter had been listed as questionable during pre-game injury reports before his status shifted to doubtful ahead of games two and three recently, but Huerter is back to questionable.
During the regular season, Huerter averaged 10 points with over three rebounds and three assists per game, and the veteran wing quietly worked his way into being a trusted piece of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s second unit. Huerter started slow for Detroit in February and March before working his way towards a first-off-the-bench role towards the end of the regular season, so Red Velvet’s absence continues to limit the Pistons’ options in terms of reserve firepower.
While Huerter has been out, Bickerstaff has turned to LeVert to help provide similar contributions in terms of supportive scoring and secondary playmaking, and the Michigan product has acquitted himself well in the second round with a pair of big three-pointers in game two. LeVert has an extensive history playing under Bickerstaff with the Cavs before they each arrived in Detroit, so 6-7 guard has experience that is valuable in the postseason, but he is currently working through a right heel contusion that pushes his status to questionable for tonight’s road game.
On the other side of the matchup, the Cavs have a clean bill of health to report, so the 52-win squad from the regular season should have their full arsenal available to draw from after Sam Merrill worked through a slight hamstring issue in game three.
If the Pistons are forced to play without Huerter or LeVert tonight, look for Daniss Jenkins to continue to receive an ample amount of playing time all game long. Jenkins has operated as Cade Cunningham’s primary backup for the second half of the season and throughout the playoffs so far, but Bickerstaff has frequently moved to plug Jenkins into late fourth quarter lineups in favor of Ausar Thompson due to the second-year guard’s shooting ability.
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