Cleveland 98
Detroit 88
Piston.com RecapBoxscoreThis was something of a variation on a theme. The Pistons didn't challenge Cleveland defensively in the first half, trailed 60-42 at halftime, mounted a comeback in the second half, cutting the deficit down to 5 in the fourth, but fell short.
In addition to missing Hamilton and Prince again, Gordon went down with a sprained ankle in the second quarter.
The Pistons played with heart, but they must play 48 minutes and stop giving teams cushions.
LeBron had his usual 30+ points. Some surprise contributors in Shaq's absence were JJ Hicks and Daniel Gibson. Hicks was raw offensively last year and is still a work in progress. Gibson was cold in the last few games, averaging about 3 points. All 13 of his points were in the first half, so he wasn't a factor in the second.
Will Bynum had only 4 points and 5 rebounds. Perhaps his ankle is still bothering him.
Maxiell and Daye contributed with 10 and 9 points respectively plus defense and rebounding. Villanueva had a decent game with 19 points and 8 rebounds, though he missed twice down the stretch in the fourth when the Cavs' 8 point lead could've been shaved down to 4.
C'est le vie.
Jerebko did do a solid job of defending Lebron, forcing him to stay out of the lane fairly often and shoot jumpers. It'll be interesting to see what Prince, Hamilton, Jerebko, Stuckey, and Summers do against LeBron later in the season when the Pistons face Cleveland again.
Rodney Stuckey was the star of the game for Detroit with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. He shot 50% from the field on 8 of 16 shooting and went 8 for 8 from the foul line. I'll look to see him keep up the higher field goal shooting percentage. The only quibble in this game was his getting just 1 assist.
As the point guard, he needs to get the offense going and get his teammates involved. Kuester's mentoring will be a long term process, but it was good to see Stuckey improve on his shot selection and hit more of his jumpers in this game.
Like it or not, this new Piston team is a work in progress.
Hopefully, Gordon will be able to play on Friday against the Clippers.
LeBron also talked a little pregame trash saying that he doesn't see Detroit as a rival anymore. He's not the king of anything and the Cavs need other teams to be injured and have some miracles go their way to be champs this season.
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( 5 - 9 ) VS 
( 10 - 4 )
Richard Hamilton Ankle 
Tayshaun Prince Out - Ruptured disc in back.
Shaquille O'Neal Prob - Shoulder.
Leon Powe Out indefinitely - Knee.
Will Bynum 4apg
Anderson Varejao 7.9rpg
