The Cleveland Cavaliers desperately missed Kevin Love who was out due to foot soreness. Even with Love not starting the season in the most efficient manner (as he has an effective field goal rate of just 37.7 percent), Cleveland was at a loss without him inside. They didn’t have an answer for Detroit’s lumbering bigs in Blake Griffin or Andre Drummond on either end of the floor or on the glass.
Griffin and Drummond poured in 26 points each and combined for 32 rebounds in this one. As a result, the Pistons out-rebounded the Cavs by 18, and those extra possessions were likely the difference in the game.