The Cleveland Cavaliers had their five-game winning streak snapped by the struggling Detroit Pistons on Monday night, 96-88.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers had their five-game winning streak snapped by the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, 96-88.
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-21 from the field. Kevin Love added 24 points, his second straight game reaching at least 20. But LeBron James struggled, scoring 12 points on 5-of-18 from the field.
Following the bad loss, Irving did his best to take attention from the game, going into detail about his bed bug issue that forced him out of Sunday's showdown in Oklahoma City.
Chances are that's how Monday's game will be remembered, with Irving showing the bump on his forehead and calling out The Skirvin Hilton Hotel afterward.
It's always something with the Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving forced out by bed bugs
Here are five observations:
Not handling prosperity - General Manager David Griffin has spoken about an issue that has plagued his pricey group of talented players all season long: Not being able to handle prosperity.
His point was driven home on Monday.
Following arguably the most impressive win of the season, a 115-92 trouncing of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cavs stumbled to an eight-point loss against the Pistons, a team that entered the night having lost five straight games and eight of 10. One night earlier, struggling Detroit gave up 59 points to Pelicans' star Anthony Davis.
Sure, the Cavs were tired. And still getting over an insect scare inside a haunted hotel. But Detroit was navigating the same rigors that come from an NBA schedule.
"They came in and played well and beat us," Tyronn Lue said following the loss. "We weren't ready to play tonight. I can't say it was a back-to-back, because they played yesterday also. It was one of those games. They beat us. We've got to go back to the drawing board."
The Pistons raced out to a 33-28 advantage in the first quarter, gaining plenty of confidence and zest along the way.
"Energy," James said. "We lacked energy today, starting with myself, all the way down to everybody else. Gave a couple quick spurts in the second quarter and late in the fourth but a little bit too late."
The Cavs trailed by as many as 18 points before trying to rally late behind an increased defensive effort. But Reggie Jackson's late bucket thwarted the potential comeback.
"You know, it's just a tough game," Love said. "Uncharacteristic of us, especially coming off a big win on the road against Oklahoma City."
Earlier this season, the Cavs followed a signature win against the Spurs by nearly losing on the road against Indiana. Cleveland rallied in the fourth quarter and won in overtime thanks to some baffling late-game decisions by the Pacers, who were in control for much of the second half.
Following a big win against the Clippers at home, the Cavs lost the next contest against Chicago, Lue's debut as head coach.
Griffin appears to be onto something. Handling prosperity seems to be an issue.
What will happen if the team goes up in a playoff series? Will they be able to keep their foot on the throttle or will the mental lapses and issues with success turn up again?
Plagued by turnovers - The Cavs shot 43 percent from the field and nearly 31 percent from three-point range, pretty good numbers.
Yet they only scored 88 points, their lowest total since Jan. 23 against the Bulls.
"We had 18 turnovers for 23 points so against a team like that you can't turn the ball over and give easy baskets," Lue said. "You have to make them play in the halfcourt set. I thought in the second half our halfcourt defense was pretty sharp once we started trapping Jackson but you can't turn the ball over 18 times and give them 23 points."
James was at the center of the issue, committing six miscues, one more than his assist total.
"Uncharacteristic turnovers from our team, but mostly me," he admitted. "I probably should've had about 12 of them instead of six. I gotta do a better job of that, concentration level. Just being a little bit careless with a couple of my turnovers early in the game. And it just trickled down all the way into the fourth."
Every player but Richard Jefferson and Sasha Kaun, who played 28 seconds at the end of the game, committed at least one turnover.
"We don't want to make any excuses," Irving said. "They beat us on our home floor, a lot more physical and they deserved this win."
Lesson learned - Take a look at the standings.
With the Pistons two games out of the eighth spot, Cleveland could be seeing Detroit more than just the one time remaining on the regular season schedule.
The Cavs shouldn't feel threatened, of course. By anyone in the East, really. However, it's worth pointing out that the Pistons have beaten Miami, Chicago and Cleveland each twice. They pounded Golden State earlier this season, one of the Warriors' five losses.
Detroit has stumbled recently, but it boasts a talented roster that wouldn't be a pushover in an April series.
All-Star Andre Drummond leads the NBA in double-doubles and rendered Tristan Thompson useless on Monday. Drummond finished with 16 points to go with 15 rebounds and made 8-of-14 from the free throw line, an excellent night by his standards.
Thompson, meanwhile, had zero points and just six boards. He was a team-worst minus 22 before being replaced by Timofey Mozgov in the fourth quarter.
Then there's leading scorer Reggie Jackson, who has created issues for the Cavaliers' defense with his scoring and passing.
"I thought on the pick-and-roll defense we were so worried about Drummond getting behind us and catching lobs that our bigs were in between two," Lue said. "More than not, they were just letting guys turn the corner and lay the ball in the basket."
Jackson scored 23 points on 9-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. He also dished out a team-high four assists.
He scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half, blowing past the Cavs' perimeter defenders with little resistance before Lue and defensive coordinator Mike Longabardi made adjustments.
"Second half we were able to go to the 'blitz' and that kind of gave Reggie Jackson some problems," Lue said. "Going forward we know that now."
A potential first-round playoff matchup is a real possibility so on a night when the Cavs certainly didn't have their "A Game," it's important to take lessons.
At least now, they have something they can try at the beginning of the next game. Jackson is Detroit's offensive engine and slowing him should be Plan A.
In three meetings this season against the Cavaliers, the point guard is averaging 20.3 points on 43.1 percent from the field, including 40 percent from beyond the arc. He's also averaging 7.3 assists against 4.0 turnovers.
Pistons' adjustments on Love - Coming off a 29-point effort against the Thunder, Love was the early offensive focal point against the Pistons, attacking undersized Tobias Harris in the post.
"I was just aggressive more than anything," Love said. "I think that getting to the free throw line and getting to my spots, especially early on, finding me, that helped set the tone kind of the rest of the game."
Love scored the first six points and got the ball in comfortable places the first three possessions. It appeared Detroit had few answers and the Cavs had found another mismatch.
At the end of the first quarter, Love had 14 points on 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. Then he slowly faded, scoring 10 points in the final three quarters on 3-of-8 from the field.
So what happened?
"The changes they made defensively," Lue said. "We tried to post him early. They went to a front a couple of times. They also, when we posted him, they came and double-teamed and made us move the ball around the perimeter and made us take three-point shots. They made a great adjustment."
Then when the Cavs were searching for offense in the fourth quarter, Love was nowhere to be found, scoring zero in the final frame.
"Just forcing me out to the three-point line," Love said of Detroit's adjustment. "A lot of the stuff that at the beginning of the game was getting me low-post touches, getting me at the elbow, just trying to find guys on different pick-and-roll situations. Even to get me out to the three-point line and get rhythm buckets. That just wasn't there in the fourth quarter."
Quiet debut - Lue didn't know how much he was going to be able to play Channing Frye on Monday. The Pistons rely on a small-ball approach, using Harris as a de facto power forward.
Then, of course, there's Frye's own unfamiliarity with his new teammates.
"I wish we would've won," Frye said. "For not practicing or being on the court with these guys, I could see the potential there. For me I was really not focused on the offensive end, just more like making shots and good screens, rebounding.
"I was a little handsy early, but I don't care about fouls either. I've got six. Well, I've got as many as I've got. For me I'm just trying to fit in, go in there and work with the guys and figure out what they like to do and how to get them open, how to create space for guys. The ball didn't go in today but they're encouraging and 0-for-2 is not bad from the three. If I shoot another eight, I'll take my chances."
In his first game with the Cavs, Frye played nine minutes, scoring two points and grabbing four rebounds.
His lone basket came in the closing seconds when he got the ball in the post and nailed a baby-hook shot.
Prior to the game, he was on the court working with Cavaliers assistant Phil Handy, who was putting Frye through pick-and-pop drills. The majority of Frye's pregame shooting routine originated from beyond the three-point arc, his most effective area and the place the Cavs think he can help the most.
This is all very new to Frye. He has yet to get a feel for the city, spending most of his time in his hotel room at the Ritz while awaiting word that he passed his physical, something that didn't happen until Monday. He's also taken some strolls through Tower City Mall, even sitting down to watch "Deadpool."
"I've never been traded in the middle of the season," Frye said. "It's not going to be too hard. You've got some super talented, Hall of Famers here. It's like listen, set a screen and get the hell out of the way. If he finds you then you're good, you're open. If not, then you're not open. It's kind of like that. For me it's going back to film and make sure I'm doing the little things."
