AUBURN HILLS -- Tayshaun Prince always has his hands full as the Detroit Pistons' primary defender on Cleveland's LeBron James. But trying to limit James' effectiveness has taken a toll on Prince's offense.
Prince had four points on 2-for-7 shooting in Detroit's Game 1 loss to the Cavs on Saturday. He came into the playoff series averaging 9.5 points against Cleveland in the four regular season games. The only playoff team in the East that Prince has a lower regular season scoring average against is Atlanta (7.7 points per game).Detroit will need better numbers from Prince if they are to have any shot in Game 2 tonight.
The Pistons have tried to help Prince by having different players defend James, and get Prince in more favorable matchups to score.
In Game 1, all four of Prince's points came in the paint against backup Wally Szczerbiak.
"We don't just want to post Tay on LeBron, but we can put LeBron in a lot of movement, make him have to defend on movement," said Detroit head coach Michael Curry. "We can hopefully over a seven-game series, wear down LeBron some and just make it difficult on him."
Because Prince's teammates know how hard Prince has to work to defend James, often that means fewer touches offensively.
"He's got to (become more of a scorer)," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "You can't have LeBron relax on defense. That's what he's trying to do right now; he's trying to pretty much play safety, play behind the rim; he's helping a whole lot. So we have to make him play defense; wear him down on that end because he means so much to them on the offensive end."
The Pistons had little or no effect on James in Game 1. James had 38 points on an assortment
of dunks and layups.
And it wasn't just James who was having success. The Cavaliers shot better than 50 percent from the field (37-of-70). Cleveland led by 12 points at the half and were never seriously challenged in the second half.
Despite being seeded eighth, Curry expects a grueling playoff series.
"To win any series, it's a tough challenge," Curry said. "Our guys have to be rested and ready to play and accept the challenge. There's no other way to get around it."
Former Piston steps up
Joe Smith, who played with Detroit in 2000-01, was among the unsung heroes in Cleveland's Game 1 win. Smith led all bench players with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
"He's another guy who can spread the floor whenever (Zydrunas) Ilgauskas is out of the game," Curry said. "Joe shoots it really well; he really knows how to play."
Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick, averaged 12.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game with Detroit.