DETROIT — It’s almost time.
The Cavs entered Wednesday night with a plan to use the final two preseason games as a tune-up for next week’s regular season opener. They’ve got more work to do. Cleveland lost the penultimate exhibition, 108-92, against the J.B. Bickerstaff-led Detroit Pistons. The Cavs remain winless in the preseason at 0-3.
The previous two games were system-focused, with Atkinson intentionally starting the in-game process of implementing his style and principles while also rewarding the end-of-bench guys with valuable playing time and game reps.
Wednesday was about bringing the Opening Night rotation into focus and identifying various lineups and combinations — even with projected starting small forward Max Strus (hip contusion) and reserve sharpshooter Sam Merrill (wrist soreness) in street clothes for the second consecutive game. Sources tell cleveland.com both are likely to be ready for the regular season opener in Toronto.
For the first three quarters against the Pistons on Wednesday night, Atkinson tightened his lineups, using nine guys — all of whom could theoretically fit in the Oct. 23 lineup, especially given Atkinson’s desire to take advantage of the team’s depth with an 11-man rotation. Those nine — Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Ty Jerome, Dean Wade and Georges Niang — plus Strus and Merrill make 11.
The fourth quarter belonged to the four projected outsiders — Craig Porter Jr., Jaylon Tyson, JT Thor and Luke Travers, all of whom will need to stay ready in case of injury or another unforeseen circumstance.
Allen looked regular season ready, finishing with a game-high 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting to go with eight rebounds in 27 minutes.
Star guard Mitchell, sporting a headband, chipped in with 13 points and four assists. Mobley tallied 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and four blocks. LeVert, temporarily stepping into Strus’ spot, finished with six points on 2 of 7 shooting. Garland struggled with his shot as well, missing seven of his 10 attempts, including all five of his 3-point attempts.
Each Wednesday starter logged at least 21 minutes while the Pistons, in their preseason finale, played their backups and camp invites for the duration of the second half. Despite that, Detroit outscored Cleveland, 48-31, over the final 24 minutes, including 21-14 in the third quarter.
Detroit was led by reserve forward Simone Fontecchio who had 18 points. Former Cavalier Lamar Stevens contributed seven off the bench.
Wednesday’s exhibition was played against a reunion-filled backdrop. Bickerstaff, fired by Cleveland following a 4-1 Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the eventual champion Boston Celtics, was quickly hired to oversee the Detroit rebuild — just as he did so successfully in Cleveland. Bickerstaff also brought multiple former Cavs coaches with him, including Luke Walton and Sidney Lowe. It was the first of five total matchups with Detroit and there were plenty of hugs and handshakes as the final buzzer sounded.
The next head-to-head showdown will be Oct. 25 — the Cavaliers’ highly anticipated home opener.
Perhaps Cleveland will look a bit better and more game-ready by then.
Up next
The Cavs will wrap up the preseason in Chicago on Friday night. Tipoff against the Bulls is set for 8 p.m.
