Live Thread: Cavs @ Pistons

Okay… so it’s not Saturday night. Still, every time I see a trip to Detroit on the Cavs’ schedule, this song plays uncontrollably in my brain. It “pulls me through, comes on strong, and tells me what I gotta do,” so to speak. Sure it’s almost 40 years old, but I defy you to listen to this song and not “lose your mind,” or at least get pumped up for any big event… like tonight when the Cavs end their three game roady (and hopefully start a new win streak) with a showdown against the Pistons in “Detroit Rock City.”

Both teams are feeling a little raw, coming off of tough losses. The Pistons and their burgeoning star, Andre Drummond, got taken to task by their coach, the Master of Panic himself, Stan Van Gundy for their poor showing against the lowly Lakers on Sunday. The 95-87 loss was their fourth straight on a six game road trip, dropping Detroit back down to .500 on the season after a promising 5-1 start. Despite putting up astronomically historic numbers (18.5 ppg and 19.0 rpg) and his tremendous length, Andre the giant is still lacking in other areas (including just 1.4 blocks per game) according to SVG…

“Andre does a lot of great things but he is not protecting the rim at all,” said Van Gundy.

Stan was also critical of his PG, Reggie Jackson, after a nine point, five turnover performance against the Lakers. Jackson has still been the leading scorer for the Pistons (20.4 ppg), and put up a total of 40 points and 17 assists in two games against the Cavs last season after being traded to Detroit.

The Cavs also got an early season ripping from their royal leader for their collective poor effort and attitude in only their second defeat of the season against the Bucks on Saturday. LeBron made it pretty clear how he felt about the team despite their lofty 8-2 record…

“We’re not a great team right now,” James said. “I think we’re a good team. I think we expect we’re a great team, and we’re not. We have to get better in every facet of the game, and that’s every single facet of the game. We give a half-ass effort sometimes and expect that we can just make a run at the end. We’re not good enough to do that right now.”

Much of what ailed the Cavs were focus related mistakes, from careless passes, to failure to block out on rebounds, to a continued poor performance from the charity stripe… all things that will be achilles heels if they don’t clean them up against another long and physical team in the Pistons. LeBron expanded on his comments this morning a bit by tying them into the style of leadership he’s employing this year, and the high expectations he has for himself and his team…

“I’m the leader of this team, whatever it takes,” James said. “So if it’s laying into them, I’ll do that. Obviously, whatever this team needs, I’m going to do. I’m going to hold everyone accountable including myself. I expect nothing less than greatness out of all of us, and if we’re not able to do that, then I feel like I’ve failed.”

The Cavs will undoubtedly look to rectify their sloppiness and avoid giving yet another up-and-coming young team in the suddenly strong Central Division any sort of confidence for the future. The Pistons will be looking to defend their turf and take their best shot at the reigning EC Champs.

Probable starting lineups for the Cavs: Mo Williams, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Timofey Mozgov; and for the Pistons: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Ersan Ilyasova and Andre Drummond.

Tip off is 7:30 pm (EST). Check out the game on Fox Sports Ohio or on WTAM 1100.

So, …GET UP! ….GET DOWN! …and GO CAVS!