Written by Brian McPeek

---

There was not much drama in the Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday night. Yes, the Cavs looked like they got into the turkey and stuffing a bit early and suffered the effects of a little tryptophan intake when they let an 18 point halftime lead slide to six points late in the fourth quarter, but they woke up in time to salt away another win over the Pistons, 98-88. That makes it eight wins in the last nine games in Detroit and runs the Cavaliers overall record to 11-4. Peeks recaps the win.

There was not much drama in the Palace of Auburn Hills on Wednesday night.  

Yes, the Cavs looked like they got into the turkey and stuffing a bit early and suffered the effects of a little tryptophan intake when they let an 18 point halftime lead slide to six points late in the fourth quarter, but they woke up in time to salt away another win over the Pistons, 98-88. 

That makes it eight wins in the last nine games in Detroit and runs the Cavaliers overall record to 11-4. 

Raise your hand if you think you know who led the Cavaliers to their 11^th win in their last 13 games.  

LeBron James poured in 34 points and, for good measure, hauled down eight rebounds and dished out seven assists to Pace the Cavaliers. James abused Swedish rookie Jonas Jerebko for much of the evening and then went up, over and through Rodney Stuckey when he needed to when Jerebko couldn't handle the job. 

James got a big night from Daniel Gibson who knocked down his first five shots on the evening to account for his 13 points. Gibson probably sheds a tear or two every time he has to leave that building.  

Mo Williams dropped in 14 points and handed out 8 assists while Anthony Parker also helped the cause with a 4-5 shooting night including 2-2 from three-point range.  

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 25 points and he got some support from Charlie Villanueva who chipped in 19 points and eight rebounds. The Pistons were without the services of Tayshaun Price and Rip Hamilton who have missed the majority of the season with injuries.  Their absence was offset by the fact that Cavs center Shaquille O'Neal also missed the game in Detroit, the sixth game in a row the big man has missed with an ailing shoulder. 

Takeaways 

• You can consider the fact that the Cavs have routinely let big leads slip away in one of two ways:  

1. The Cavs look really strong when they're interested.
2. The Cavs interest and execution seems to wane depending on the score board.

To be fair, this is a phenomenon that the Cavs have dealt with in the past. They did this occasionally last season as well and then turned up the intensity in the first couple of playoff rounds before being overwhelmed by Orlando. 

But they seem to have taken it to another level this season and, while it didn't cost them Wednesday night, it has cost them (most notably against Washington last week) at various points in the early part of this season. 

The Pistons got back in the game Wednesday when the Cavs offense went stagnant and the Pistons took advantage of multiple misses and poor offensive sets by taking the ball right into the teeth of the Cavalier defense. 

There's nothing wrong with tightening the screws and getting guys like Danny Green a little bit of run and experience. Some of the rim running might well stop if and when Shaq is healthy enough to set up down low but there are no guarantees that O'Neal will be a healthy and viable defender as the season goes on. The Cavs need to develop a killer's mentality when they have their feet on a team's throat. That'll keep minutes for LBJ at a reasonable level and benefit the Cavaliers down the road. 

• Bit by bit, night by night you can see the new guys, Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker, processing information and functioning with a little more efficiency with their new mates. Parker had his 13 points Wednesday but Moon may have had the play of the game. With time running down in the first half James drove the lane and Moon flashed from the right corner toward the rim. James saw him cut and laid off of pretty alley-oop pass that Moon corralled with his left hand threw down for a pretty dunk. Moon scored 11 points on the night, nine of which came in that very productive first half that also a couple of blocked shots.

It's good to see a couple of Cavalier wing players utilize their athleticism.  

• What's not good to see is the continued deterioration of Zydrunas Ilgauskas's offensive game. When you're a one-dimensional, un-athletic 7'3" jump shooter you have to make that one dimension count. And right now Z is struggling mightily. In 25 minutes of play Wednesday night Ilgauskas was just 1-4 from the floor for two points. Z hasn't been much of a defensive presence for years but his offense has always been something you could set your clock to. No idea whether his new role as a backup to Shaq has affected him (though I'm not sure how it couldn't to some degree) but the Cavs would benefit from Z returning to form offensively. When he's right he can pull opposing big men out of the lane and out to the perimeter thus freeing up valuable space. But if he's not knocking down shots from the perimeter that lane is going to be awfully crowded.

They Got Next 

The Cavaliers get Thanksgiving off before heading to Charlotte for a 7pm tip against the Bobcats on Friday. The game is being televised by FSN Ohio as is Saturday's 730pm clash at ‘The Q' with the Dallas Mavericks.  

Lastly, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and have a safe holiday weekend.