by The Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Detroit Pistons yesterday. This is the first time the Cavs took on their former head coach JB Bickerstaff. New head coach Kenny Atkinson started what will likely be the opening day lineup of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. LeVert or Okoro will most likely start with Max Strus being hurt.
Cleveland went into halftime up 61-60. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley looked to be in mid-season form already. Combined, they had 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. One surprising statistic was Dean Wade’s +20, which lead the team. Coming off the bench, Wade contributed five points, five rebounds, one assist and one block.
The game ended with Detroit coming out on top 108-92. The defense was very handsy, getting 13 steals and nine blocks. Cleveland could have lost by a larger margin, but was kept in the game by free throws, which bailed them out of a poor shooting performance.
Rotations are not set in stone quite yet, so no one knows what the bench will look like. Atkinson may still want to play around with various combinations as he begins his tenure with the new team. With two more preseason games still to come, something to look at will be the bench rotation.
Next Game – Cavaliers at Bulls Friday 8pm
