3 Detroit Pistons the Cleveland Cavaliers have to prep for

Friday night the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Detroit Pistons.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won six in a row, and are 6-1 in the NBA. Their hot start was defined by the fact they did most of it without All-Star point guard Darius Garland and then emboldened by the fact that Garland came back for their latest game against the Celtics, and helped guide them to a win.

Considering how important it is that Garland stay healthy and contribute, fans were going bonkers watching the team swat away playoff team after playoff team without him. Now, with his return, the Cavs showed just how potent they can be. Last year, if Kevin Love and Cedi Osman shot poorly, the team would have a hard time winning games as a lot of the focus would be on Garland.

Now, with Mitchell in the fray, teams can’t rest at any point in the game. It’s madness. It’s going to be a situation that the Detroit Pistons will have to rise up to meet. The Pistons believed they’d be contenders for a playoff spot this year, which was marked by their acquisition of Bojan Bogdanovic from the Utah Jazz before the season started.

Despite his hot start, and the hot start of second-year player Cade Cunningham, the Pistons are still struggling. That doesn’t mean the Pistons can’t snap this streak the Cavs are on, but to make sure they don’t, they have to focus on the following three players.

Three Detroit Pistons that the Cleveland Cavaliers have to gameplan for

Bojan Bogdanovic

I feel for Bojan Bogdanovic. He’s a great, truly great shooter and is shooting 52% from the floor and 50% from three to start the 2022-2023 season. He’s also doing it by minimizing low-percentage shots. He’s either hitting from near the paint, or from three, but hardly anywhere in between. He’s shooting 85% of his shots either from inside 10 feet from the hoop or behind the three-point line, and he’s shooting 53% of his shots from three. He’s at a career-high of seven attempts from three. So the Cavs are going to have to zero in on him, especially since the Cavs perimeter defense is one of the few question marks on the team.

Isaiah Stewart

Isaiah Stewart isn’t going to be a big issue on defense, but offensively he’s someone the team can’t lose track of. He’s not going to hurt you like Bogdanovic can with his scoring but he can hurt the team with his rebounding, as he’s pulling down three offensive boards per game. He’s yet to see Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Dean Wade, however, so we’ll see how well he plays against them.

Cade Cunningham

One of the pretenders to Evan Mobley’s rightful Rookie of the Year crown, Cade Cunningham is proving that he can put up good numbers on a bad team. Offensively he looks solid, nearly 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists seem great. But he’s only shooting 44% from the floor and 28% from three. He’s also a defensive liability, with a defensive box+/- of -1.4 and a RAPTOR score of -3.8. Cunningham takes 42% of his shots from 10 feet and in on offense, and if the Cavs frontcourt can keep him out of the paint, Cunningham won’t be a factor.