Yesterday afternoon, the Detroit Pistons hosted a home opener at Little Caesar’s Arena and walked away with a six-point victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, 119-113. In the contest, the Pistons featured three scorers who eclipsed the 20-point threshold, but the balanced Detroit offensive attack is going to turn its attention to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers for today’s matchup. 

Now riding a two-game winning streak, the Pistons look to push that mark to three games, and perhaps Detroit can use a recent preseason matchup between the two squads to its advantage today. On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Pistons traveled to Cleveland for a road preseason game against the Cavs, and Detroit suffered an 18-point loss on the night. However, the Pistons were considerably shorthanded, playing without Cade Cunningham, Marcus Sasser or Caris LeVert in the affair, so the lineups and rotations will look different today. 

Injuries

Speaking of injuries, the Pistons have not been the healthiest team across the association thus far. Heading into yesterday’s Celtics game, both Marcus Sasser were listed as doubtful and were inactive on Sunday, while explosive guard Jaden Ivey is understood to be recovering from knee surgery for a few more weeks. The Pistons are expected to face a similar injury situation today. 

Update: Cade Cunningham has landed on the injury report with bruises on his left hip and the right side of his face according to reports from Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.

As for the Cavs, a couple players are likely to populate the injury report for today’s game. The team featured a questionable De’Andre Hunter (knee) on the report yesterday, while the dynamic Darius Garland and Max Strus were both listed as out for the Cavs’ game against the Bucks. 

Here's an updated injury report from the Cavs just hours before tip-off:

Player to Watch: Jalen Duren

Keep an eye on the Pistons big man who had an utterly dominant performance yesterday against the Celtics with 24 points and 18 rebounds in just 28 minutes of work last night. Detroit’s center was ready to go against Boston from the start, and Duren had already logged nine points and nine rebounds by halftime. Cunningham and Duren appear to have picked up their lob connection right where it left off last season, and Duren’s made rim-rattling slam dunks a regular part of his game early in the 2025-26 season.

Three-Headed Monster Of Cunningham, Duren And Thompson Lifts Pistons Over Celtics, 119-113 The Pistons outrebounded the Celtics 54-38 in the home victory.

Not long before the regular season began, the Pistons decided not to extend Duren’s rookie contract by the Oct. 20 deadline, so perhaps Duren is playing with a little more motivation to help secure a long-term contract next offseason. Either way, it’s working in Detroit’s favor, and the 6-10 big man will be a player to watch tonight. 

Cavs News

Like the Pistons, the Cavs are also riding a two-game winning streak right now, and they’re scoring a bit more than Detroit is in the process even without a full cast of contributors. The Cavs and Pistons are both expected to be competitors in the Eastern Conference this season, so today’s matchup could foreshadow a future playoff series down the line depending on how the rest of the season shakes out.

Prediction: Cleveland 116, Detroit 121

Cleveland may very well push the pace in this contest with active guard play and some ball handlers that like to get their shots up, but that quick pace could play right into Detroit’s hands. The Pistons run one of the quickest transition offenses in the league, so a high pace of play could help benefit Detroit throughout the game. If the Pistons are able to get some stops and can jumpstart the fast break fairly often in the first half, then Detroit might be well on their way to a 3-1 start to the season.

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