Cavaliers-Pistons Preview

ANDY LEFKOWITZ
Posted Dec 27 2011 7:57PM

After just one NBA game, Cleveland's Kyrie Irving realizes he has a lot to learn about what's needed to achieve success in the professional ranks.

With a rotation that's also full of youth, the same can be said for the Detroit Pistons.

Set to play his first game on the road, Irving leads the Cavaliers into the Palace of Auburn Hills to meet the Pistons on Wednesday night.

Selected first overall in last summer's draft after playing just 11 games as a freshman at Duke, the 19-year-old Irving is expected to be a key figure as the Cavaliers continue to rebuild.

Irving's debut in Monday's 104-96 loss at home to Toronto was mixed. Starting at point guard, Irving finished with six points on 2 of 12 shooting but also dished out a team-best seven assists while committing one turnover in 26 minutes.

"Its just one game," Irving said. "We have 65 more games to go. It's a learning process for me and the team."

Power forward Tristan Thompson - selected fourth overall after just one season at Texas - came off the bench in his NBA debut and finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.

"Tristan was all over the court, very active for us," center Anderson Varejao told the Cavaliers' official website.

Cleveland (0-1) hopes Irving and Thompson will be able to help continue the team's success from late last season against the Pistons. After losing the first two games in the season series, the Cavs salvaged a split by taking the last two, including a 110-101 win April 11 in suburban Detroit.

Overall, Cleveland has won four of five at The Palace, though LeBron James was around for three of those victories.

The Pistons head into their home opener following Monday's 91-79 loss to Indiana that spoiled the debut of new coach Lawrence Frank.

Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko each scored 17 for the Pistons (0-1), who shot just 36 percent from the field and never led.

"We just have to play a whole lot more together game," Frank said. "More ball movement, more working to get rhythm shots. It just shows you where we're at right now. We've got a lot of work to do."

Another facet Frank's team needs to work on is rebounding. After finishing last in the league in that category in 2010-11 with an average of 38.6 per game, the Pistons were edged 53-40 on the boards Monday.

"Now we know what we've got to do," Stuckey said. "We've got to stop complaining, we've got to rebound the basketball, we've got to play harder. That's it."

Greg Monroe, the team's first-round pick in 2010, averaged a team-best 8.3 rebounds versus the Cavaliers as a rookie. Stuckey, meanwhile, led Detroit with 21.5 points and 8.3 assists per game.

The Pistons' top pick in 2011, like Irving, had his ups and downs in his NBA debut. Brandon Knight, the No. 8 overall selection and one of four players on the roster in his first or second season, scored 9 points on 3 of 9 shooting in 16 minutes but committed four turnovers.

Kyrie Irving-led Cavaliers beat Pistons 105-89

By LARRY LAGE
Posted Dec 28 2011 11:29PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons are both rebuilding, trying to make their franchises relevant in the NBA again.

Cleveland looks like it might have more to work with during this lockout-shortened season.

Rookie Kyrie Irving had 14 points and seven assists to help Cleveland beat Detroit 105-89 on Wednesday night, spoiling the Pistons' first home opener with new owner Tom Gores.

Irving, the No. 1 pick overall, was sensational in the first half and put a damper on the party.

He had 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting with five assists, three rebounds and two steals at halftime when the Cavs led by 11. The former Duke star bounced back from a six-point performance in his NBA debut, a loss to Toronto.

"In the last game, I wasn't enjoying the game," Irving said. "I think I wanted to be so serious. I wasn't joking around and there was no smile on my face. It's just about feeling comfortable out there."

Reserve Samardo Samuels scored 17 and Ramon Sessions had 16 points off the bench for the Cavaliers, who got 15 points from Antawn Jamison and 10 points apiece from Anderson Varejao and first-round pick Tristan Thompson.

"We were much more aggressive from start to finish," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said.

Detroit's Ben Gordon had 25 points and rookie reserve Brandon Knight scored 23.

Sessions made the last shot of the first quarter to put the Cavs ahead for good and they turned the game into a rout in the fourth quarter.

"You get what you deserve," Detroit's first-year coach Lawrence Frank said. "We got what we deserved."

Cleveland made 57 percent of its shots and held the Pistons to 44 percent shooting.

"When things aren't going well for us offensively, it's tough," Frank said. "We surrendered a little bit."

Gores watched the whole game from his suite and like the fans, he started off fired up - pumping his fist - and was much more subdued later in the game when the only unknown was how badly his team was going to get beat.

"I am going to be patient as long as progress is being made," said Gores, who is from Flint and lives in California. "We need to win the right way."

Gores was joined in his suite by the former owner, Karen Davidson, who searched for a buyer after her husband, William, died in 2009. The new owner took William Davidson's name off the court and put it in the rafters, unveiling William Davidson's signature along with 1974-2009 - the years he owned the three-time championship franchise - above new banners of retired jerseys during a first-half ceremony.

"We have not forgotten about him at all," Gores said.

The Pistons called a game a sellout, but there were small patches of chairs without fans in them sprinkled throughout the 22,076-seat arena. Those who came were loud early and quiet late.

"We didn't do our best to win, but seeing the fan support was really exciting," Knight said.

Cleveland's coaches and players left their bench after the national anthem to avoid the elaborate pregame festivities, then returned to take care of business in a matchup of teams shooting for their first win.

The Cavs look like they found the right guy to lead the way, counting on the 19-year-old Irving as a point guard who can create shots for teammates and himself.

"I told him before the game, `When you have the ball in your hands, you've got to push it to the point of exhaustion,"' Scott recalled.

Cleveland stayed in control of the game in the second and third quarters, then turned the game into a rout with a dominant final quarter as a once-raucous and mostly filled arena turned quiet and almost empty.

"You feel like you let the fans down," Frank said.

Detroit lost its opener by 12 points at Indiana.

"This doesn't get fixed in two weeks," Frank said. "This is going to take a lot of work."

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who like Gores graduated from Michigan State, attended the game and spoke with a handful of reporters before the game.

"We're definitely committed to the rebuilding process right now," Gilbert said. "We want to build through the draft and we love the corps of young guys we've got."

The Cavs beat Detroit in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals to play for their first NBA championship, reached the conference finals two years later, lost in the second round in 2010 - then were spurned by superstar LeBron James bolting from his home state team to play in Miami.

Gilbert said James' decision to leave as a free agent seems like "10 years ago" and insisted he only thinks about him when Cleveland plays the Heat.

"We're just really focused on the future and rebuilding the franchise and doing it for the long haul," Gilbert said.

NOTES: The Cavs added guard Manny Harris to their NBDL team, the Canton Charge. They cut the former Michigan star after he missed training camp with a burn on his right foot that Cavs doctors couldn't treat during the NBA lockout. ... Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was featured during a part of the pregame festivities and watched the game from a front-row seat.

Notebook: Cavaliers 105, Pistons 89

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday December 29, 2011 12:10AM

THE FACTS: The Cleveland Cavaliers had six players in double figures as they spoiled the Detroit Pistons' home opener Wednesday night, 105-89, at The Palace. The Cavs, who lost to Toronto 104-96 in their opener, shot 57.1 percent from the field and outscored the Pistons 52-36 in the paint.

QUOTABLE: "When you feel good about the way you're playing defense, the offense will come. That's what happened tonight. We had a lot of confidence in our defense. We knew we could have mistakes on offense and it wouldn't change anything. The first half, we had some turnovers but we kept trusting our defense and that was the key tonight."
-- Cleveland center Anderson Varejao on the Cavs holding Detroit to 44 percent shooting

THE STAT: 56-23. Cleveland's bench outscored the Pistons' reserves by 33 points, led by forward Samardo Samuels (17 points) and guard Ramon Sessions (16).

TURNING POINT: Rookie point guard Kyrie Irving and Varejao scored all of Cleveland's points during a 14-4 run late in the first half that gave their team a 14-point lead. The Pistons never recovered as they trailed throughout the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "I told him before the game, 'You get the ball in your hands, you look to push it and push it to the point where you're just exhausted.' In the third quarter, he was like, 'Coach, I think I need (a break).' But that's what I want him to do."
-- Cavs coach Byron Scott on top pick Irving, who had 14 points and seven assists in his second NBA game.

HOT: Rookie guard Brandon Knight was the bright spot in an otherwise bleak performance by the Pistons. He poured in 23 points in his second career game, shooting 10 of 13 from the field. Knight added six assists in 29 minutes.

NOT: Pistons starting point guard Rodney Stuckey was outplayed by Irving, shooting 4-for-12 from the field while scoring 11 points. Stuckey missed a handful of layups, which allowed the Cavs to get transition baskets.

GOOD MOVE: Scott was asked prior to the game whether Samuels, who didn't play against Toronto, was in the doghouse. Scott said he didn't have a doghouse, then proceeded to play Samuels 25 minutes. The second-year forward responded by shooting 6-for-8 from the field.

BAD MOVE: The Pistons' new coach Lawrence Frank ran several isolation plays for forward Tayshaun Prince in the early going. Most didn't work and it prevented center Greg Monroe (10 points) and Stuckey from establishing an offensive rhythm.

NOTABLE: Not only did Frank make his home debut as the Pistons coach, Tom Gores made his Palace debut as the team's owner. Gores bought the team shortly after last season from Karen Davidson, widow of longtime owner Bill Davidson. "I feel like I have been trained for this my whole life," Gores said. "I grew up with sports, I grew up in Michigan. I feel like I am so ready for this challenge." .... Pistons reserve Austin Daye missed all five of his shots and is 0-for-8 from the field this season. ... Ben Gordon led Detroit with 25 points. ... The Cavs had a 40-26 rebounding edge.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Friday @ Indiana, Sunday vs. New Jersey, Tuesday vs. Charlotte. For the Pistons, Friday @ Boston, Saturday vs. Indiana, Monday vs. Orlando.

• Cavaliers: Erden, Thompson
• Pistons: --

• Cavaliers: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #9 Derrick Stafford, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 22076
• Duration: 2:21