Pistons-Cavs Recap: Rasheed Wallace, Larry Hughes Make the Difference

Both Cleveland and Detroit view themselves as worthy challengers for the Eastern Conference crown. After identifying each team's needs and weaknesses, I've determined that one key player on each squad is vital to the teams' ultimate success: Larry Hughes for the Cavs; Rasheed Wallace for the Pistons.

 

In the case of the Cavs, their mismatched roster is too LeBron-centric to overcome more than the weakest patsies in the East. Only if the underwhelming Hughes steps up his game up to complement King James can the Cavs entertain the faintest visions of postseason glory.

 

Detroit has just the opposite problem. Their team is balanced and battle-tested, but only a superstar catalyst like Wallace can get the Pistons' engine firing on all cylinders.

Sunday's Pistons-Cavs game was a great barometer for the two organizations as they look ahead to the playoffs. Let's see just what Rasheed Wallace and Larry Hughes did'and how their play impacted Detroit's 90-78 victory.

 

	M	FG	FT	REB	AST	PTS
Rasheed Wallace	37	6-15	2-2	13	1	15
Larry Hughes	38	7-13	0-0	2	3	14

Rasheed Wallace First Half Notes

 

 

Minuses

 

- Missed a short jump shot over Drew Gooden early.

- Got out of position defending Gooden, allowing Gooden to cut to the basket and record an easy layup.

- Passively attempted to rebound a missed shot, allowing Gooden to grab an easy board.

- Was passive defending a LeBron/Ilgauskas pick-and-roll, allowing LeBron to blow past him for a layup. Rasheed also fouled LeBron on the play, but the subsequent free throw was no good.

- Late in the first, Sheed lost Donyell Marshall in transition, allowing an uncontested 3-point field goal.

- In the second quarter, Rasheed didn't hustle for a loose ball, allowing LeBron to gather in an offensive rebound.

- Was consistently out-hustled by Drew Gooden.

- Only wallowed outside the 3-point line in the 2nd quarter.

- Recorded his first rebound at the 4:07 mark in the 2nd quarter (meaning Detroit's starting center went almost 20 minutes without a rebound—a terrible number).

- Recorded only 1 rebound for the half, to go along with one tip-out that resulted in a rebound for Detroit. (Another pathetic statistic).

 

Neutral Plays

- On one possession, Drew Gooden beat him off the dribble, but Rasheed showed quick hands to poke the ball away.
- While Rasheed rested early in the second quarter, Detroit had no way to stop Sasha Pavlovic from having his way on drives to the basket.

Pluses

- Used his long arms to contest a Daniel Gibson 3-ball, resulting in a miss.
- Set a solid screen to give Tayshaun Prince an open jumper.
- Generally set solid screens on offense.
- Aggressively tipped out an offensive rebound over Zydrunas Ilgauskus.
- Ended up being defended by Daniel Gibson in the post on one possession. Rasheed waited for the double and made the correct pass to an open teammate, but the jumper was missed.
- Played outstanding help defense when James tried to find a path to the basket. In fact, Sheed's help defense was instrumental in holding LeBron to 9-22 shooting for the game.
- Forced a steal when Gooden tried to take him off the dribble.
- When guarded by Donyell Marshall on two possessions, Wallace dominated Marshall in the post for two layup attempts. One was good, the other missed—but the collapsing defense was out of position and Chris Webber tipped in the miss.
- Forced James to attempt a difficult shot moving away from the basket on a drive (though LeBron made the bucket).
- Knocked down a wide-open 3.
- Moved the ball on a pick-and-roll, finding a wide-open Carlos Delfino in the corner—but Delfino traveled trying to drive past a closing Zydrunas Ilgauskas.


Rasheed started off the game very sluggishly, especially on defense and on the glass. Maybe he thought tip-off was at 3:30 instead of 2:30. His lackadaisical start helped Cleveland shoot 50% from the field. That said, Sheed played outstanding help defense on LeBron James. He also played solid individual defense on Drew Gooden in the second quarter. On offense, he spent too much time hanging around on the perimeter. Only when inept post defenders (Daniel Gibson and Donyell Marshall) were on Wallace did he look completely involved in the offense.


Larry Hughes First Half Notes

Minuses

- Forced a drive and missed a jump shot late in the first half.
- Never caught the ball in motion (blame Cavs coach Mike Brown for that).

Neutral Plays

- Generally stayed out of the way on offense.
- Turned his head once, allowing Rip Hamilton to cut to the basket—but Hughes' hand just barely snuck in and deflected the entry pass, preventing a layup.
- Missed a desperation 3 to close out the first quarter
- Fought through screens on defense, forcing Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups to drive to the basket—but Cleveland's bigs couldn't prevent Hamilton and Billups from getting shots around the basket, or dishing off assists down low to Chris Webber.

Pluses

- Used a Drew Gooden screen to knock down his first perimeter jumper.
- Forced a carry by Rip Hamilton.
- Received another screen and knocked down another semi-contested jumper.
- Hit a third jumper over Chauncey Billups.
- Was able to play the point and bring up the ball when Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow, or Damon Jones sat on the bench.
- Got past Billups and hit a nice floater in the lane.
- Played adequate defense on Chauncey Billups on a couple of Billups isolations.

Hughes was on fire to start the game, hitting five of his first six shot attempts. He also played surprisingly well on defense, probably because he was feeling frisky after knocking down those early jumpers.

 

In the second half, though, things started to change for both Hughes and Wallace. Their performances to close the game paint a clear picture of the future: Detroit will challenge in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but Cleveland will have trouble escaping the first round.

 

 

Rasheed Wallace Third Quarter Notes

 

Minuses

 

- Failed to box out and then fouled Drew Gooden, allowing an offensive rebound and two free throws.

- Missed a turnaround jumper over Gooden in the post.

- Had a shot attempt poked away by Daniel Gibson.

 

Pluses

 

- Had a spectacular sequence early in the third quarter, tipping up an offensive rebound over Ilgauskas, missing the tap, then leaping over Ilgauskas again for a right-handed tip-jam—while Ilgauskas stood in landlocked awe.

- Hit a turnaround jumper over Gooden in the post.

- Stayed at home on Gooden, forcing a missed jumper.

- Grabbed three rebounds in traffic in the span of a minute.

- Got fouled on a jump shot attempt.

Larry Hughes Third Quarter Notes

 

Minuses

 

- Missed a wide-open 3.

- Turned his head allowing a Tayshaun Prince layup attempt, which Prince botched.

- Made a careless lob pass to a wing-stationed Zydrunas Ilgauskas, which was nearly picked off.

- Forced a jump shot over Chauncey Billups, which clanged off the rim.

 

 

 

Pluses

 

- Took on four Pistons defenders on a drive to the hoop for a nifty layup.

- Forced a turnover guarding Prince in the post.

- Chased down a long offensive rebound

- Drove past Billups for a nice layup.

 

In the third quarter, Wallace's minuses turned to pluses as he asserted himself more on the offensive glass. His defense stayed solid, and he ventured into the post a few times on offense. Meanwhile, Larry Hughes started registering more entries on the negative side of the ledger, forcing shots, turning his head, and failing to knock down jumpers with the regularity he showed in the opening half.

 

The fourth quarter is the real indicator of why Detroit is a legitimate beast in the East—and why Cleveland is no better than a pretender.

 

Rasheed Wallace Fourth Quarter Notes

Minuses

- Missed a 3 over Pavlovic.

Pluses

- Dominated Drew Gooden on the glass. In the 2nd half, Rasheed notched 11 total rebounds, a very impressive number.
- Continued to provide help down low, forcing LeBron James to settle for a number of difficult shots.
- Forced Zydrunas Ilgauskas into an awkward right-handed hook, which was way off.
- Notched a second tip-jam on an offensive rebound.
- Nailed an open jumper a step inside the arc.
- Played like a superstar, at least on the glass and the defensive end.

Larry Hughes Fourth Quarter Notes

Minuses

- Overdribbled on one possession, going from the right baseline to the top of the key before missing a forced jumper.
- Badly bricked an open 3 with 6 minutes to go.
- Clanked a step-in jumper as Detroit was pulling away.
- Failed to produce in any way, shape, or form once the Pistons stepped up their defensive intensity.

Pluses

- Not a single one.

If the Rasheed Wallace of the second half shows up for the Pistons down the stretch, Detroit can compete with any Eastern Conference foe. However, Rasheed's unwillingness to play in the post and draw fouls (only 2  free throw attempts for the game) means that he probably can't be the dynamic offensive star Detroit needs to win a championship.

 

As for Cleveland, Hughes is too soft of a player (mentally and physically) for anyone to believe that he'll be a key contributor on an elite team. If Danny Ferry wants to sniff the Finals, he'll be wise to apply dynamite to the Cavalier roster.