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Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Game Preview, Prediction

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By @Kramerica100

Getty Images

Getty Images

Detroit Pistons (6-23) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-11)

Game Time: Sunday, Dec. 28, 4:30 p.m. ET

Projected Starting Lineups:
Detroit Pistons: PG: Brandon Jennings, SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SF: Kyle Singler, PF: Greg Monroe, C: Andre Drummond
 Cleveland Cavaliers: PG: Kyrie Irving, SG: Mike Miller, SF: LeBron James, PF: Kevin Love, C: Tristan Thompson 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are just trying to stay healthy as they near the two-month mark of their new look team. Anderson Varejao will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles, and Kyrie Irving missed the last game with a left knee contusion. Irving is questionable for tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons, so it will be up to LeBron James and Kevin Love to get another win for the Cavaliers. Matthew Dellavedova will start in place of Irving if he can’t go.

Cleveland will need to make a trade or two to fill out the rest of their roster to fill the void of Varejao. Tristan Thompson will be able to step into the starting role, but they will need more depth if they are going to contend for a title this season. It has been an up and down for James and the Cavs so far, but their season will ultimately be judged on how they perform in the playoffs.

A home game against Detroit figures to be an easy win for Cleveland, however, the Pistons are coming off of their best offensive output of the year. In their first game since releasing Josh Smith, the Pistons scored a season-high 119 points in a win over the Indiana Pacers. Detroit’s offensive spacing and execution looked foreign compared to the style of play from earlier in the year.

It was a pleasant sight for Detroit fans as they got to watch Greg Monroe start alongside Andre Drummond. The hope is that the absence of Smith can potentially sway Monroe into signing with the Pistons long-term. That possibility is the only chance left at a silver lining ending with the Smith era in Detroit.

Detroit has an opportunity to put up another high point total in this game against Cleveland. The Cavaliers have struggled on defense all season, and the Pistons could do some damage if they space the floor as well as they did in their last game.

It should be a high-scoring game and will come down to whichever team can come up with a few stops at the end. I think that Detroit will give Cleveland a tougher fight than they are expecting, but James and Cavs will prevail in the end.

Final Prediction: Cleveland 107 Detroit 102

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