Photo: Duane Burleson/AP

In the holiday spirit, the Cavaliers took it easy on their former brethren, Pistons coach John Kuester and starting center Ben Wallace, who dealt with a shorthanded squad in tonight's matchup in the Palace. Cleveland led by as much as 19, but a fourth quarter push fueled by the Detroit backcourt and Cleveland's offensive stagnation cut the lead to just five in the final minutes. It took some LeBron heroics to seal things for the good guys as the Cavaliers won their sixth in a row in Detroit.

Not the Pistons you remember: Flashback to last year's playoff series and a starting lineup for the Pistons of Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess, and Rasheed Wallace. That's right, just one of them was in the starting lineup tonight. McDyess and Wallace have departed to San Antonio and Boston respectively, and Hamilton and Prince were both missing tonight due to injury. Speaking of injuries, Shaquille O'Neal was cleared by team doctors, but Mike Brown chose to hold him out for the sixth straight game with the hope that he can go Friday in Charlotte.

Catching up with old friends: There was a lot of turnover in Detroit this past offseason, and some of that affected the wine and gold. Cavalier offensive coordinator/guru John Kuester is now the Pistons head man, and reserve Cavalier power forward Ben Wallace is now starting Pistons center Ben Wallace in a Back to the Future role with the team where he won a title. It was interesting to see how Kuester's offense has carried over to the Pistons. Granted, he doesn't have anywhere close to his full arsenal right now, but the Pistons were able to get some pretty good shots in this game late. As for Big Ben, he chimed in to the tune of 8 points and 9 rebounds in almost 31 minutes. He even made 4-of-6 free throws, including back-to-back swishes. I was a fan of Wallace's work in his first tour of duty in Detroit, enjoyed his time here in Cleveland, and I still respect the guy who is starting at center in the NBA at age 35. I wish nothing but the best for two former Cavaliers... unless we're playing them of course and as long as we beat them out for the Central Division crown.

LeBron-heavy first: Using a favorable matchup with rookie Jonas Jerebko of Sweden over the customary Tayshaun Prince cover, LeBron James went to work aggressively and early in the Palace. LBJ posted 12 in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting, and the Cavaliers got out to a nine point lead after twelve minutes. Young gun J.J. Hickson continued his fast starts with six points in the quarter.

Mo, bench carry Cavs in 2nd quarter: One thing is clear: the Cavaliers have no problem with scoring 60 points in the first half. They did so tonight for the sixth time in their last nine games. What was surprising, however, was who helped them explode for a 32-point second quarter. It wasn't LBJ; he had just three points and no made field goals. No, it was Mo Williams combined with the increasingly effective bench duo of Daniel Gibson and Jamario Moon. The three joined together to account for 27 of the team's 32 in the quarter. Gibson used a mix of trey balls and in-between jumpers to post 10 of his 13 points in the second. Moon had nine in the quarter, including an impressive left-handed slam on an alley-oop from the King just before the second quarter buzzer. Mo took charge and added eight of his 14 points on the evening in the second as well. The wine and gold got 28 points in all from their bench of Moon, Boobie, and Anderson Varejao, and that is the kind of effort that a coach will take any night from his subs.

Quickened pace: The Pistons' success came tonight from their backcourt mismatches. Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon are tough guards for Mo Williams and Anthony Parker. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, Gordon turned his ankle late in the second quarter and did not return. He finished with 9 points and 4 assists. Stuckey, meanwhile, continued his assault on the Cavalier defense as he poured in 25 on the night, adding 6 assists and 2 steals.Will Bynum, who can be lightning in a bottle at times, was a dud tonight, shooting 1-of-13 from the floor. Quick, small two guards continue to be an issue for Parker, and that is why the Cavaliers would like to get Delonte West back into the swing of things. Delonte was active, but recorded a DNP-Coach's Decision once again.

The 1-4 LBJ stall: Ahh, so we meet again, LeBron James offensive stall. You are the Achilles heel to the Cavaliers capable offensive gameplan. You are a gift and a curse. That pretty much sums it up, because LBJ took the air out of the ball in the fourth quarter, and it allowed the Pistons to cut the lead to just five points with 1:13 to play. LeBron's shooting was also the thing that pulled the Cavaliers from the wreckage of a potential unforgiveable loss. I'm one who doesn't have a beef with LeBron dominating the ball.. if it's the final two minutes of the game. Otherwise, the Cavaliers struggle if they don't move the ball and find their open power forward (JJ or Andy) or an open three point shooter (Mo, Boobie, Parker, Moon, etc.). The stalls have become less frequent, and let's hope those lapses continually shrink as the season progresses.

Are You Kiddin' Me!: I'm waiting for these "star calls" that everyone assumes that LeBron James gets to surface. Sure, he gets SOME calls, but I feel most of those come via the lack of traveling violations called. Tonight, the Cavaliers got the short end in several instances in the fourth quarter. First, LeBron was quite ticked as he drove from the top of the key and sent home a screaming dunk. The reason, you ask? Once again, LBJ got hit across the forehead as evidenced by his headband's movement. He yelled at the refs as he ran to the bench for the Detroit timeout, and his animosity continued for the rest of the game. Another play where LBJ got no love that comes to mind was when James was in the post and no less than three Pistons were reaching, clawing, trying to chip the ball out then LeBron turned around and fired up a ball that hit the side of the backboard as he was hassled all the way up. It could have been the most contact I've ever seen in which James didn't get the call. Other awful calls include the offensive foul on Moon when he was cutoff going for an alley-oop and a Ben Wallace-Anderson Varejao tie-up under the basket which went against Andy. All I can say is, Kevin Fehr, it would benefit you to invest in a pair of bifocals.

The return of small ball: Rockin' roundball, Cavalier fans! Coach Mike Brown went to a small ball lineup, the same type of lineup that was a mainstay of the 66-win squad last year! With J.J. Hickson guilty of some brain cramps and Zydrunas Ilgauskas having an uneventful evening, neither played in the final nine minutes as Brown went with a lineup of Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson or Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, LeBron James, and Anderson Varejao. While the results may not have been overwhelming positive, it shows that Brown is willing to go back to what was oh so successful last season. Against certain teams, this lineup can be killer. In certain games, you're not going to want Shaq or Z out there in the final minutes. This is a great opportunity to go small with J.J. or Andy at the five.

goes to: Daniel "Boobie" Gibson and Jamario Moon. Moon and Gibson were key to the Cavaliers second quarter spurt that gave them an 18-point halftime lead. With LBJ scoring just three points in the quarter, Gibson and Moon combined for 19 points in the stretch. Boobie shot 5-for-7 from the floor, including 3-for-3 on trey balls, for his 13 points and 2 assists. Jamario hit 4-of-5 shots, scoring 11 points, pulling down 3 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots.

Team Grade: C-

The Pistons had to finish this one without three of their top four guards, but they still were a break or two away from pulling off a stunner. The Cavaliers were outrebounded 43-33 by a much smaller Pistons team. They also had 15 turnovers and gave up 16 offensive rebounds. But, they shot 50% as a team, held Detroit to 40% shooting, and they had 20 assists on their 34 field goals. They also had 28 bench points and five guys in double digit scoring. Simply put, this effort would have been a losing one against two-third of the league.

The Cavaliers get Turkey Day off before heading to Charlotte Friday night to take on the Bobcats and their new weapon, Stephen Jackson. This will not be an easy task, and expect Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, and company to bring their A game.

All for one. One for all.

Kirk

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