FAST BREAKDOWN
Three quick observations from Friday night’s 114-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers…
SLAM DUNK – Cleveland got itself going with second-chance points, sustained its lead by being nearly flawless at the foul line and got to play with a lead comfortable enough most of the game that the Cavaliers never faced a stretch of high-pressure possessions. Oh, the Pistons cut a 20-point deficit late in the third quarter to nine with under five minutes to go and had a clean look from Reggie Jackson to pull within six. Had that fallen, maybe a different story. But not on a night that Kevin Love (29 points, 5 of 7 from the 3-point line) and Kyrie Irving (28 points in 32 minutes) were so on their games that LeBron James (20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) was put in perhaps his most dangerous mode – as a facilitator who didn’t have to worry about expending tons of energy in tough isolation situations all night.The Cavs scored 10 second-chance points in the first quarter, led by a basket or two north or south of 10 points for most of the first half and stretched the lead to 15 with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. The Pistons were plenty good on offense for most of the game – they had 58 points at halftime despite 3 of 12 3-point shooting – but couldn’t string the stops together they needed to put any heat on Cleveland.
FREE THROW – He guarded LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and held his own in both matchups. There are a lot of reasons the Pistons are excited about Stanley Johnson’s future; that’s one of them. Stan Van Gundy consistently says Johnson isn’t in awe of anything – up to and including guarding James. When James tried to muscle Johnson, he held his ground consistently. In fact, Johnson’s summer camp matchup with James before he entered his freshman season at Arizona is the stuff of lore. When James sat, Johnson showed his defensive versatility by guarding Kyrie Irving for a stretch. With Marcus Morris picking up three fouls by the midway point of the first half, Johnson got an extended run again after logging 32 minutes in his 18-point outing in Wednesday’s win over Philadelphia. He was active immediately upon entering Friday’s game in the first quarter, dishing out three quick assists, jamming home an offensive rebound, picking up a loose ball in traffic and causing another Cleveland turnover. Johnson finished with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.
3-POINTER – Spencer Dinwiddie is out of sight, but not out of mind. Sent to the D-League when Brandon Jennings returned from injury in late December, Dinwiddie played perhaps his finest game in nine outings for the Grand Rapids Drive in their Thursday overtime win at Iowa. Dinwiddie played 45 minutes and scored 24 points with five assists, three steals, three rebounds and two blocked shots. Perhaps most significantly, he hit 6 of 10 3-point shots, a Drive record for makes in a game. The Pistons know Dinwiddie can pass and they’re intrigued by his 6-foot-6 size and defensive potential. But he’s struggled to shoot well during his 11/2 NBA seasons with the caveat that it’s hard to judge in the limited exposure Dinwiddie received. Dinwiddie has made 18 percent of his 72 NBA 3-point shots and shot .319 overall for the Pistons. Dinwiddie is shooting .324 from the 3-point line for Grand Rapids. He’s averaging 15.4 points and 5.9 assists. “That’s the best he’s shot the ball,” Stan Van Gundy said of Thursday’s outing. “But he’s really been passing the ball. They’ve been really happy with his defense, really happy with his work ethic in practice and he’s always been a good passer. But to make six threes last night, maybe get him going from there a little bit.” Ryan Boatright, picked up by the Pistons late in training camp and then waived so they could make him a “developmental player” and assign him to their D-League affiliate, last week asked to be waived so he could sign in Italy, which he since did. With Dinwiddie starting for the Drive, Boatright’s minutes had dwindled.
