Another dust-up is waiting to be settled as the Detroit Pistons face the Charlotte Hornets for the first time since the February game that ended in chaos and suspensions.
The Pistons are locked at the one seed, and the Hornets appear to be headed for the play-in tournament. Everything is on the table for them, and tonight is a must-win.
Do the Pistons rest vs the hungry Hornets? Or does Cade Cunningham continue to get his legs under him? It will be interesting to see how JB Bickerstaff plays his hand
against another potential playoff opponent.
Game Vitals
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
When: 7:00 PM
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (+5)
Analysis
The Hornets have been the best offense in the league since Dec. 2. They hit the offensive glass, get up 3s, and have multiple 20-point threats. With their high 3-point rate comes variance.
The Hornets are an interesting watch when they do not have it going from 3 because they do not have many consistent 2-point scorers. None of their go-to options gets to the rim a lot compared to other offensive engines.
The Pistons are the complete opposite. They live in the paint. Cade Cunningham played 26 minutes after missing time. It was good to see him attacking the basket. Cade was 5/7 from the restricted area (PivotFade). He got back in the lineup and immediately began dropping his shoulders and making contact with defenders to get buckets. Getting more minutes tonight before the playoffs could keep Cade sharp after his layoff.
Jalen Duren is an automatic 2-point player. In a playoff series, the Hornets would try to get JD on the perimeter and hunt 3s. He has to be ready for that, no doubt. But how would the Hornets solve the Duren puzzle on the other end?
Moussa Diabaté is Charlotte’s offensive rebound machine, and he kicks it out to his shooters like his life depends on it. He is a ball of energy, but is not sturdy enough to handle Duren in the paint. Not many are. Grant Williams is a good undersized defender, but he would struggle with Duren’s mass. Ryan Kalkbrenner would too, despite his length.
While Charlotte has been the top 3-point shooting team all year (2nd in attempts, third in %), Detroit is on a heater. They are shooting 39 percent (sixth in league) in the last 15 games. Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins, Javonte Green, Tobias Harris, and Marcus Sasser are all shooting over 40 percent during this hot stretch from triple.
Ron Holland is on the 3-point action, shooting 44 percent on three attempts over the last seven games. Holland is going to let it fly every time. He knew these shots were down as soon as they left his hands. That is progress.
On the other side, the Hornets have shooters galore. Kon Knueppel (268) and LaMelo Ball (261) are first and second in total 3s. Brandon Miller is 38.5 percent on over eight attempts. Grant Williams, Coby White. There are some guys over there who can shoot it. While their trigger-happy offense results in tons of 3s, turnovers come with Charlotte’s package. This team turns the ball over a ton (15.4 TO #24), and Detroit feasts off those.
Detroit is the best turnover creation team in basketball. They have the best wing defender in Ausar Thompson. All of those Hornets snipers will deal with him at some point.
It is not fair what Ausar can do to offensive players. The save on this possession was just as impressive as Ausar’s perfectly-timed block. The balance and awareness needed to pull off this sequence is wild.
On the next possession down, it seemed like Ryan Rollins, who is having a Most Improved Player-type year, was fine immediately giving up the ball because of the harassment from Ausar. The turnover-prone weapons in Charlotte cannot be loose with the ball in this matchup.
Daniss Jenkins, who trains with Rollins, will be a critical piece tonight and on this postseason run. He is the backup ball handler who needs to stay prepared. He is good enough to be more than a neutral, but even that would be enough. Detroit needs Jenkins to remain competent with Cade back in the lineup.
We will see how Bicketstaff handles the rotation tonight. The chase for 60 wins and the need to stay sharp are reasons to get starters on the floor. The Hornets will be desperate, and the Pistons can spoil their standings push tonight.
Lineups
Detroit Pistons (58-22):
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Haris, Jalen Duren
Charlotte Hornets (43-37):
LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabaté
Question of the day
Are you team rest or team play?
