The Pistons play both of their preseason games against Cleveland – the finale comes Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena – and open The Palace regular season against the Cavs, as well, on Dec. 28, the season’s second game.
Does that complicate things for Lawrence Frank, eager to get as much installed at both ends of the court before the Dec. 26 season opener with Indiana but perhaps hesitant to show too much to the Cavs?
Not so much.
“With me, it always comes down to execution,” Frank said after Monday’s three-hour practice before the Pistons headed to Cleveland. “At the end of the day, every team knows what every team runs. Do you keep a couple of things up your sleeve? Yeah, but not really. It’s not football. There’s such a quick turnaround time, you have to use this as an opportunity to get better and improve your habits and you can’t waste that time.”
Will Rodney Stuckey, with three practices under his belt and a morning shootaround in Cleveland still to come, see any minutes against the Cavs on Tuesday?
Stuckey said he would gladly do so if asked. Frank isn’t sure yet – or if he is, he’s not ready to say so publicly.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’ll have a definitive answer for you after shootaround tomorrow.
“Rodney’s been great. He’s fit right in. A very eager learner, trying to catch up on the stuff he’s missed. Obviously, he’s a huge difference maker for us. Every day, he’ll do more. He did more today and he’s making good progress.”
Frank said there is one other player whose availability is in doubt with a game-time decision likely.