By the Numbers: Cavs Rout Pistons, Claim 5th Straight Win

That is despite a low-scoring game from LeBron James

LeBron James was one of the 6 Cavs who scored in double figures. 

After faltering, fading and suffering embarrassing losses during the early stages of the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the defending Eastern Conference Champions, are finally catching up and finally, gaining grounds as they are finally becoming the team that the rest of the East used to fear during the past 3 seasons: a legitimate super team.

The Cavs exploded for 36 points in the first quarter, scored 37 in the second quarter and never looked back as they beat the Detroit Pistons, 116-88 to extend their winning streak to 5 games.

So what worked well for the Cavs? Let’s check the numbers below:

The Cavs’ Impressive Start

As they say in basketball, when you start the game great, the greater chance you will win the game. And that was one of the things that enabled Cleveland to nab their 5th consecutive win. In fact, 16 of the 36 points that the Cavs scored in the first quarter against the Pistons came from none other than LeBron James. And Tyronn Lue’s boys didn’t stop there as they scored 37 points in the next quarter. Impressive, isn’t it?

Balanced Scoring: 6 Cavs in Double Figures

• Kevin Love: 19 points
• Jae Crowder: 18 points
• LeBron James: 18 points
• Jose Calderon: 14 points
• Channing Frye: 11 points
• Jeff Green: 10 points

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In a game where no one from either squad scored above 20 points, balanced scoring proved to be the difference as LeBron James, after scoring 16 in the first quarter alone, ended the night by scoring 2 points the rest of the game, finishing with 18 points. But he didn’t have to carry the load alone, Kevin Love and Jae Crowder chipped in with 19 and 18 respectively but what proved to be another difference in the game was the fact that Tyronn Lue started Jose Calderon who scored 14 points in just 24 minutes of action.  

Conclusion

If anything, this is exactly the Cleveland Cavaliers that we’ve been searching for. Mind you, folks. Iman Shumpert is out. So is Derrick Rose. And don’t forget about Isaiah Thomas. If the Cavs can win without the guys that are mentioned, guys who are shooters and one former league MVP, then the Cavs are actually undermanned, to begin with. And they are fine with it. So far. 

War From Under the Rim: Raptors Destroys Pistons

Toronto Raptors ravaged the Detroit Pistons 116 to 94 to bag 2nd victor.

 Kyle Lowry (7) attacking Reggie Jackson’s (1) Defense

After an all-out inside domination of the Detroit Pistons, their supremacy in the shaded area came to a very early end as they tasted defeat against the Toronto Raptors which conquered the inside all throughout.

Raptors took full control with impeccable team play that allowed them to score from the inside. They delivered 30 assists that thwarted Pistons with just 19. As a result, they established a humongous advantage inside, scoring 52 total points in the paint whilst Pistons only with 36.

Pistons, seeing that the inside worked well for them the last time against the Orlando Magic, their pace slowed down dramatically which also let the Raptors breakaway in the transition basket segments, scoring 17 compared to Detroit with just 4.

Nothing just seemed to work well for Detroit from the inside, outside or in the slow or fast pace of the game all throughout. They only delivered 5 long balls in contrast to Raptors with 13 triples.

The two teams are tied up 2-2 in their preseason standings.

Jasper’s Forecast

From the game statistics of Raptors, facing the Orlando Magic will be pretty interesting. Raptors and Orlando are teams with a great balance of their inside and beyond the arc efficiency. This will be one of the good matchups to watch in the east. Another team that will surely clump with this clash is the Dallas Mavericks which destroyed Orlando Magic’s reign inside.

Scores:

Raptors 116 – Valanciunas 18, Ibaka 14, DeRozan 13, Lowry 7, Powell 6, Bench – 58

Pistons 94 – Drummond 14, Harris 9, Johnson 6, Jackson 6, Kennard 2, Bench – 57

(video courtesy of NBA Conference)

3rd Quarter Turnaround: Detroit Ousts Rival Indiana

Reggie Bullock of Detroit Pistons

Pistons shut down the pace of the Indiana Pacers

High Paced Indiana

Catch and chase first quarter of action. Deadlock at 20 at the 1:51 mark as Detroit Pistons sizzled for a 5 to nothing run, Regie Bullock fires a long ball followed by an assist to Luke Lennard for the easy layup. Consequently,  the Pacers gained momentum after a technical foul commited by Eric Morland when he as whistled for a defensive three seconds,  Cory Joseph delivered the technical freethrow, followed by a 12 feet jumper and another basket at the final 4 seconds to regain the lead for Pacers 27-20.

Pacers still managed to maintain their lead in the whole first half, up ahead 50-40.

Crucial 3rd Quarter

Most of the time, 3rd quarter is the deciding quarter. It may be the quarter of a comeback for the catching up squad or a quarter of complete break away for the leading team. It turned out to be a comeback for Detroit.

The Pistons were even threatened by Pacers when the 10 point lead was stretched 58-44. Detroit do not let them be buried even deeper anymore, going full throttle for a stunning 11 to nothing run , catching up the tail of the shocked Pacers as they are only down 55-58. Cory Joseph stopped the bleeding for Indiana with a 3-point jumper.

The pistons are up ahead in entering the final bout 76-74.

Exchange of explosive 3 pointers

The Indiana took back the lead via a three-pointer of Damien Wilkins but was quickly answered by Detroit with their own triple by Anthony Tolliver. Detroit definitely kept pace with Indiana to start an 8-0 run pulling away a bit farther  84-79.

Damien Wilkins hit another triple to keep Detroit within striking distance followed by an Alex Poythress defensive board and scoring on the other side to be back to square one 86 all.

Jarod Uthoff broke the deadlock with a triple to push Indiana with the lead with last 5 minutes to play. 

Damien Wilkins turned the ball over with a bad pass, Detroit outrageously saw a chance to regain momentum, electrifying the Pacers again by a 10-0 run to pull ahead by 7 points.

Reggie Bullock fired up a three pointer with the game approaching the last minute, 105-96 and the Pacers ran out of steam and time for their rebuttal. Detroit ousted the lossless Indiana Pacers 107-97.

Scores:

Detroit 107 -Marjanovic 14, Jackson 14, Ellenson 11, Johnson 11, Kennard 6, Bench-51

Pacers 97 – Jefferson 12, Leaf 8, Poythress 7, Jones 6, Collison 4, bench – 60

Watch the Indiana Pacers vs Detroit Pistons Game Highlights

(video courtesy of Rapid Highlights)

Andre Drummond Agreed to a Five-Year Deal to Re-Sign With Pistons

Andre Drummond has agreed to a five-year, $130 million deal to re-sign with the Detroit Pistons. Signing Drummond is the first priority of the Pistons this off season.

Drummond had a successful performance last season averaging 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 32.9 minutes of action per game. He also made the All Star game last year. His 14.8 average of rebounds per game is the league’s best.

The Pistons are still looking to add a front court depth and will reportedly talk to Ryan Anderson in the coming days even after drafting 7’0 forward/center Henry Ellenson at 18th overall in the 2016 NBA draft.

Pistons Rescinded the Trade with Rockets

The Detroit Pistons have rescinded their trade with the Houston Rockets, sending Marcus Thornton and Donatas Motiejunas back to Houston. They have voided the trade after Donatas Motiejunas failed his physical due to back problems. Motiejunas could be the missing piece in their title campaign but things didn’t work out and the Pistons do not want to take the risk.

This is a blow for the Pistons as they are lacking now on the four spot. Anthony Tolliver is suffering an injury while their starter power forward, Ersan Ilyasova was sent to the Orlando Magic on the trade deadline. The good news is, they aren’t going to send their 2016 first round pick which is projected to be a lottery pick. They can use it to draft a back up point guard or a complementary piece of puzzle at power forward or a stretch four. 

Meanwhile, Joel Anthony will go back to the Pistons after playing a couple of games for the Philadelphia 76ers, that means the Rockets obligation to send a second round pick to the 76ers is extinguished.

Anthony Davis is UNREAL! 59 pts out of 24-34 shooting. AMAZING!

2 handed Jam by Davis

Davis has once again surprised everyone and this performance reminded me of a young KG blossoming into the league as one of the top players in his era. Davis showed a wide array of moves from jump shot, to step back, 3 points, layup and breath taking slum dunks. Davis is clearly becoming the franchise player at a young age, it was just a shame that they were not able to find a trading partner for Ryan Anderson who isn’t at all a bad fit alongside AD but certainly they would want someone who could create for him self like Nic Batum or Kent Bazemore which they could get at the start of the next season.

This is a proof that Davis will make noise for the years to come. Here is the breakdown of this monstrous performance by AD:

59 points 24-34 shooting

20 rebounds

4 assists 

2 block shots

With that stat Davis joined Shaquille O’ Neal and Karl Malone as the only 3 players in NBA history to record a 50-20 performance in this modern era.This performance gave the Pelicans a much needed victory to boost their morale against Detroit Pistons with a score of 100-106.

The highlight of this game of brought to us by Free Dawkins:

Written by:

Aldrin

Team Powcast

Reggie Jackson Dropped 34 pts, 11 rebs and 7 assts against CP3. Cp3 was held to 13 pts 5 reb 12 assts.

Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson outplayed and outhustled CP3 last Monday Dec 14, 2015. He almost gave his team the Big victory over LA Clippers, but was spoiled by Jamal Crawford’s late game winner 105-103. Jackson made Paul look like he was the all star and was playing out of his mind. Drummond also scored a big double double with 20 pts and 15 rebounds. The Clippers was headed by with Blake Griffin 34 pts and 7 rebs. Crawford the hero of this game added 14 pts.

The Pistons are a bit under the radar this season with 14 wins and 12 losses surprisingly they are not even in top 8 while if they are in the West they would have the 6th seed tied with Dallas. Does this mean that the East is slightly getting better or its a bit to early to tell. Nevertheless it is still a good sign for Detroit Pistons for having a good 1,2,5 just need to work on 3 and 4. 

Here is the highlight of the amazing display of over all skills by Jackson.

Written by:

Aldrin

Team Powcast

Bulls and Pistons are Victorious in Opening Night

Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons both got a positive result on the season opener, after winning games against Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks respectively.

Bulls beat Cavaliers in a close game, 97-95 in United Center, Chicago. It was a very tight game and many beautiful plays shown by both sides. Cavaliers performed really well, and played as a solid team, but unfortunately fell short, even though they dominated in second, third and fourth quarters. Bulls led the Cavaliers 26-17, but Cavaliers stepped up and actually led Bulls for the rest of the quarters, 23-20, 28-25 and 27-26.

Jimmy Butler was the hero on the game. His steal on the last seconds Cavaliers’ attempt through Lebron James that intended to catch a pass from Mo Williams inbound ball secured the victory for the home team.

A little surprise on the line-up for the Bulls; Nikola Mirotic starts over veteran Joakim Noah. And it turned out pretty well. Mirotic ended the game with 19 points, and 9 rebounds in 25 minutes. The hero Jimmy Butler added 18 points for the Bulls. Bulls’ superstar point guard, Derrick Rose playing with a protective mask after undergoing fractured orbital bone surgery. He scored 18 points and 5 dimes. Pau Gasol had a block party, 6 blocks under his name on this season opener.

Meanwhile, Lebron James noted 25 points for Cavaliers,with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Mo Williams, started his second stint with Cavaliers well, with 19 points and 7 assists against the Bulls. Kevin Love added 18 points and newly signed forward, Richard Jefferson made 10 points.

Another scene from the game was that President Barack Obama attended last night’s game in United Center. From his tweet, he seems very happy that Bulls ended up victorious.

Meanwhile in Philips Arena, Atlanta, The Hawks hammered by Detroit Pistons 106-94. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the star for the Pistons, scoring 21 points and 4 rebounds. Pistons’ big man Andre Drummond was having a game as well, with 18 points and 19 (yes, nineteen) rebounds for the away team. Marcus Morris added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

For the home team, German point guard, Dennis Schroder led the team with 20 points, while forward Paul Millsap has 19 and Jeff Teague scored 18. Hawks looked struggling without DeMarre Carroll, who left the team for Raptors in free agency, offensively and defensively, and Kent Bazemore, who played to fill Carroll’s spot, scored none.

NBA BIGS: Trending right now ! which teams will benefit from them ?

That’s right its a hot commodity right now. Bigs that are good enough to make teams better. Today, I will be sharing some of my insights about NBA Free agents mainly Bigs! 

Brook Lopez

Nets – It is hard to imagine that he would leave Brooklyn, because this is the only team that can sign him for 5 years. The Nets need to keep Lopez as much as possible because they won’t win anything if they let him go. 

Greg Monroe

Pistons – Assuming that Kevin Love would walk. Monroe would thrive playing with LBJ, Just look at what Mozgov has achieved this past season. Monroe is equipped with low post moves and the only knack for him is that he doesn’t have a consistent jump shot. Other destinations for Monroe would be Denver, Bucks, Celtics and LA Lakers.

Tobias Harris

Magic – Harris is the youngest here at 22 years old he brings a lot of +/- to a team. Harris is the one of the plays that can give you 17ppg 6-8reb per game and a 3 pointer. Orlando would do everything to keep him, however if he demands more money i could see a team like Dallas or Memphis(if they have cap space) or Lakers to go after this young stud.

Nene

Wizards – assuming that there would be a team willing to take Nene’s reasonable contract , the Wizards should let him walk, Nene isn’t a pushover whatsoever but is not the same as before. Both him and Gortat are effective underneath. Nene isnt a great defender as well. The Pistons might be a good fit for him or Dallas depending on how they play their cards.