Cavs: Do they have a better starting lineup than the Pistons?

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons inhabit a similar space in the NBA ecosystem right now. Both are young, rebuilding teams in the Central Division who are trying to balance a desire to improve with the need to continue adding young talent through the NBA Draft.

For the Cavs, they shored up their bench this offseason but will likely make just one change to their starting lineup, inserting No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley in at power forward. The Detroit Pistons will do something similar, starting No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham but otherwise starting four players who all started at times last season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons share a lot of similarities. Do the Cavs have the best starting lineup?

Last place is a hard pill to swallow, especially for teams that aren’t outright tanking. The Pistons have a veteran coach and a fringe All-Star in Jerami Grant getting ever-closer to free agency. The Cavs added multiple veterans to try and raise this team’s floor. Both would like to win more games than the other to notch something on the doorframe of this season.

To accomplish that end, which team has the better starting lineup? As both embrace the youth movement and start four players on rookie contracts, who will “wear it best” and put together the best combination of talent?

Cleveland (presumed) starters: Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Detroit (presumed) starters: Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart