Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons Prediction & Match Preview - April 19th, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for a season-series sweep of the Detroit Pistons when they meet at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.
This will be the third and final meeting between the two teams, who are headed for the lottery unless they can shake off their recent string of losses.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the first two games, and the Detroit Pistons will do everything they can to avoid losing for a third time.
This is the healthiest the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a while, and it has made them more competitive despite their two-game losing streak. The Cavs had a huge run to close the gap between them and the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, but they just didn’t have enough of a kick, losing 106-96.
Match Details
Fixture - Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons | 2020-21 NBA Season
Date & Time - Monday, April 19th, 7:00 PM ET (Tuesday, April 20th, 4:30 AM IST)
Venue - Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
Like the Detroit Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games. The Cavaliers' last win was against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. They secured a 103-90 road victory in which Taurean Prince scored 25 points.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have since dropped two straight games, with both losses being in double-digits. They have a 20-36 record and are the third-worst team in the Eastern Conference record-wise.
The most that J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad can do now is show upcoming free agents that they are a team on the rise. Five-time All-Star Kevin Love is a player with championship pedigree and can rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to play with more fire.
Love has only played in 13 games this season as he has dealt with various injuries. He started off slowly but recently had a four-game stretch in which he averaged 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest.
Key Player - Collin Sexton
Collin Sexton will be a key player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The third-year guard out of Alabama is learning how to be a leader fast and is getting his cues on how to get the best out of their teammates from Love.
This season, the Cleveland Cavaliers guard has career-highs in points (24.2), assists (4.1), field-goal percentage (47.9%) and steals (1.1) while playing a career-best 35.7 minutes per game.
Cleveland Cavaliers Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Collin Sexton l Shooting Guard - Darius Garland l Small Forward - Isaac Okoro l Power Forward - Kevin Love l Center - Jarrett Allen
Detroit Pistons Preview
The Detroit Pistons have thrown in the towel on the season based on their roster moves this campaign. However, the same can’t be said on the court, despite their record of 17-40, which is the worst in the NBA.
Their 110-104 win over the OKC Thunder on Friday illustrated this fact, although they lost to the Washington Wizards in a 121-100 rout on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the Detroit Pistons don’t back down from their opponents even if their efforts eventually fall short.
Jerami Grant is the team’s best player and is discovering what it takes to lead a team while putting up big numbers. His scoring average (22.4) jumped by more than 10 points from last season, while his rebounds (4.7) and assists (2.9) have gone up as well.
Key Player - Isaiah Stewart
Isaiah Stewart is growing before our eyes. In his last two games, the Detroit Pistons rookie registered 17.0 points, 16.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a night. He also shot at a 60.9 percent clip from the field over that two-game stretch.
Coach Dwane Casey has been giving the 19-year-old more playing time in the past nine games, with 25.4 minutes per contest compared to just 19.0 minutes a night in his previous outings.
Stewart will be matched up against Cleveland Cavaliers backup center Isaiah Hartenstein. The Detroit Pistons should have the advantage in this battle of bigs.
Detroit Pistons Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Cory Joseph l Shooting Guard - Josh Jackson l Small Forward - Jerami Grant l Power Forward - Saddiq Bey l Center - Mason Plumlee
Cavaliers vs Pistons Match Prediction
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be playing their second straight game on the road and are hoping for a more favorable result than their previous outing. If Sexton and Darius Garland click from the start, the Cavs guards can overwhelm the Detroit Pistons’ backcourt of Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson. However, Jackson is a big guard and could make things difficult for Sexton to get his shots off.
Ultimately, this game could come down to the team with the better personnel, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have the advantage over the Detroit Pistons in that department.
Where to watch Cavaliers vs Pistons
The Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons game will be televised locally by Bally Sports Ohio and Bally Sports Detroit. International viewers can watch the game on the NBA League Pass.
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