Cavs look to compete for title, Pistons in full rebuild

By: 
Yaneek Smith

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

The Cleveland Cavaliers have about as much young talent as any team in the NBA.
Cleveland has one of the league’s best backcourts in point guard Darius Garland and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who was traded to the Cavs from Utah during the offseason. Mitchell, a three-time All-Star, is one of the best players in the league. He averaged 25.9 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 44.8% from the floor and 85.3% from the free-throw line last season. But Mitchell is not an elite 3-point shooter, having made 35.5% from long range. Garland, his running mate, averaged 21.7 points last season while shooting 44.3/38.3/89.2. It should be noted that both players are just 6-1, making them one of the smallest backcourts in the NBA.
Who will be the starter at small forward? It’s up in the air between Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro, both of whom are 6-6. LeVert averaged 13.6 points on 43.5% shooting, but he was average to below average beyond the arc (32.0%) and at the free-throw line (74.5%) in 19 games with Cleveland after coming over in a trade from Indiana. Okoro, a former lottery pick, is a good defender, but is not known for his offense. He averaged 8.8 points last season with a stat line of .480/.350/.768. The power forward is 6-11 Evan Mobley, who had a great regular season and was nearly named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. He averaged 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds. He shot 50.8% from the floor and 66.3% from the line. The center, 6-10 Jarrett Allen, had his best season, averaging 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds, both career highs. He shot 67.7% from the floor — no, that’s not a misprint — and 70.8% at the line. The Cavs were 35-21 when Allen played and 9-17 when he did not.
Forward Kevin Love embraced his role coming off the bench and averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. He shot 43.0%, including 39.2% from 3-point range and 83.8% at the line. Forward Cedi Osman put up 10.7 points last year, shot 43.2%, 35.7% from beyond the arc, and 66.4% from the line. Guard Ricky Rubio, who is expected to return from a torn ACL in December or January, played 34 games last year for the Cavs before being traded and returning during the offseason as a free agent. He had a good season before getting hurt, averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 assists. And center Robin Lopez, who averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 36 games last year with Orlando, will provide depth in the frontcourt.
But Cleveland is very young. The starting lineup has a starting age of 22.8 years. If everything goes right, the Cavs could compete for an NBA championship, but the team is probably a year or two away. However, the future looks quite promising for a team that hasn’t been the same since LeBron James left.
On paper, the Detroit Pistons have a promising core.
General manager Troy Weaver has done a fantastic job of acquiring young, talented players, some through trades, and some via the draft.
It starts with point guard Cade Cunningham, who proved himself to be worthy of the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. As the catalyst for the offense, he averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He didn’t shoot very well from the floor — 41.6% overall and 31.4% from 3-point range — so he’ll have to improve upon that. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by lottery pick Jaden Ivey, who had a successful career at Purdue University.
Small forward Saddiq Bey, who some believe could be an X-factor, will be entering his third season, must shoot the ball better. He shot 39.6% from the field, 34.6% from beyond the arc and 82.7% from the charity stripe. Bojan Bogdanovic, who was acquired in a trade from Utah, averaged 18.1 points on 45.5% shooting, including 39.2% from 3-point range and 86.1% from the line. Center Isaiah Stewart, who averaged 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, could help to spread the floor if he shoots well from long range.
Guard Killian Hayes (6-5), who was drafted two years ago with the seventh pick in the draft, has disappointed, but he played well for the last 10 weeks of the season, shooting the ball better, scoring more points and finishing with an average of 4.2 assists. Center Marvin Bagley III (6-11), who will miss the first few weeks of the season, played well in 18 games for the Pistons after being acquired in a trade with Sacramento. He averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds and shot 55.5%. That was a noticeable improvement from his 30 games with the Kings, where he averaged 9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and shot 46.3%. Another lottery pick, 6-11 center Jalen Duren, will likely be brought along slowly as a rookie.
Guard/forward Isaiah Livers (6-7) will provide some depth. He played in just 19 games last season, averaging 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds with a shooting line of .456/.422/.857. Guard Cory Joseph (6-3) played in 19 games for the Pistons last season, averaging 12.0 points on 50.6% shooting and guard/forward Alec Burks (6-6) averaged 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds for New York last year.
If the Pistons are going to have any chance at even flirting with a playoff spot, they must shoot better from beyond the arc. Last year, Detroit was 29th in 3-point percentage (32.6%) and tied for 26th in 3-pointers made (11.6 per game). The team hopes that trading for Bogdanovic will help to spread the floor with his shooting and create opportunities for the young, dynamic guards.
To say this team is young would be an understatement. Duren is 18, Ivey is 20, Cunningham, Stewart and Hayes are all 21 and Bey and Bagley III are both 23.
But Detroit is probably one season away from seriously contending for a playoff spot.
Last year, the Pistons had a horrible start to the season, going 12-45, but rebounded to go 11-14 in the final 25 games.

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