Pistons at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers aim to return to the NBA Finals - and get there
with fewer distractions - and they begin that journey with Sunday's home
game against the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons. The top-seeded
Cavaliers reached the finals last season's despite LeBron James' lack of
confidence in coach David Blatt before losing to the Golden State
Warriors.
Blatt was fired midway through this season and there is less tension within the squad with Tyronn Lue serving as head coach. "We trust the system that he's put in, we trust the process that he's put in, and the game plan going into Sunday we trust," James told reporters. "So I think the fact that he's been a part of big playoff games as a player and as a coach benefits our team for sure." Cleveland is supposed to roll through the opening round despite the fact the Pistons won three of the four regular-season meetings and crave an epic series upset. "I don't want to fight Goliath's homeboy or little brother, I want to go and fight Goliath," Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson told reporters. "I think that's how this locker room feels."
TV: 3 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE PISTONS (44-38): Detroit is part of the postseason for the first time since 2009 and the players want to do more than gain valuable playoff experience. "Guys always come through here and they're like, 'Oh, let's make it competitive.' No, we're trying to win the series," rookie forward Stanley Johnson told reporters. "We think, we know, we can win the series. We know we can beat them in seven games. So that's no shade on LeBron, or the Cavaliers, or Kyrie (Irving), because they have a great team. Fifty-seven wins this year, you know, that's an awesome organization, what they have going." All-Star center Andre Drummond led the NBA with 66 double-doubles and averaged 20.3 points and 13.7 rebounds in three games against Cleveland.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (57-25): James was superb in the postseason last year with averages of 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists and figures to once again carry the squad. Power forward Kevin Love and Irving were battling injuries last postseason and Cleveland is hoping its "Big Three" can run the course healthy this time around. The Cavaliers are certainly concerned with defending Drummond as they announced that Tristan Thompson has been elevated to starting center over inconsistent Timofey Mozgov.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pistons were victorious in both visits to Cleveland this season.
2. Detroit made a franchise-record 740 3-pointers, and went 19-6 when making 11 or more in a game.
3. Cavaliers backup PG Mo Williams (knee) has been ruled out of the opener.