3 players to watch in Cavaliers-Pistons game on Tuesday
By Dan Gilinsky
#3: Ante Zizic
Cleveland Cavaliers reserve 5 Ante Zizic has played sparingly thus far in the 2019-20 season. He’s only appeared in five games, and plenty of reason for that is Zizic’s reported plantar fasciitis in his left foot that kept him out of the rotation until mid-November.
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Zizic could be a viable candidate for meaningful minutes in this one for Cleveland head coach John Beilein, though, because of Detroit’s physicality inside and ability to carve out space for drivers from screens from the likes of Drummond, along with Christian Wood.
The Cavs could get some solid minutes from Zizic on the defensive interior, as Cleveland needs to have more length in there to help contain the likes of Derrick Rose, Luke Kennard and Bruce Brown going to the rim and Zizic’s 7-foot-3 wingspan could come in handy and help out Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and/or Matthew Dellavedova some.
Zizic is not a shot blocker, but he could give Tristan Thompson a bit of a rest in terms of defending the burly Drummond, along with helping out on the defensive glass, too. As noted by NBA.com, Drummond also is the league leader in offensive rebounding.
Along with that, Zizic has shown he’s a quality rolling and screening presence, and he has shown to have good chemistry with Dellavedova, which could help the Cavs’ offense in some spot minutes in about the 15-minute range. Zizic could have some success on the low block against the likes of Detroit reserve big Thon Maker, who is a seven-footer, but a slender one at just 221 pounds, too.
The 6-foot-10 Zizic could benefit in big-to-big passing scenarios with very good big man passers in Love and Larry Nance Jr. too, which could draw some fouls throughout this matchup and clear the lane for Sexton, Garland, Cedi Osman and/or Kevin Porter Jr. for some stretches. According to Sports Illustrated‘s Sam Amico, Osman is questionable in this one due to back soreness, though.
For reference, Drummond has had the second-most personal fouls in the NBA this year, according to Basketball Reference.