Hornets look to keep stacking wins as they face the top team in the Eastern Conference

The Hornets (9-18) hit the road on Saturday for a clash against Cade Cunningham and the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons (21-6). This is the first matchup of the season between the two teams, who saw their season series split 2-2 last season.

The Hornets enter the matchup on a two-game winning streak, most recently taking down the Hawks in a 133-126 victory. The team saw a season-high 82 combined points from the trio of Kon Knueppel (28), LaMelo Ball (28), and Brandon Miller (26) in the win, all while converting a blistering 18/30 three-pointers.

Among three-man lineups with at least 100 minutes played together, the Knueppel-Ball-Miller trio is fourth in the Eastern Conference at 128.9 points per 100 possessions. This scoring effectiveness comes despite the trio appearing in only seven games together due to injuries, severely hampering chances to build on-court chemistry.

Building on this momentum while having Ball and Miller healthy will be paramount for head coach Charles Lee as the team tries to close the current three-game gap between them and play-in seeding.

The Pistons come into the game as one of the best stories of ascension in the league. Two seasons ago, the Pistons finished with the worst record in the NBA at 14-68. In the offseason that followed, the team hired coach J.B. Bickerstaff and continued to build their roster, which paid off with a 30-win improvement to a 44-38 record and the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

This season, the Pistons have set their sights even higher and delivered with what is currently a 63-win pace for the season. Not only is that the best in the Eastern Conference, but only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder has won more games in the entire NBA.

Young stars Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren- the latter of whom was a draft-night acquisition from the Hornets- have emerged as engines of the Pistons' success.

Cunningham is averaging 27.2 points, 9.2 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game in his fifth NBA season, while the fourth-year center Duren is averaging 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game.

Key Matchup - Matching Physicality

The Pistons have been one of the grittiest teams in the NBA at all levels of defense. The team is second in opponent field goal percentage allowed on shots within eight feet of the rim, second in rebounds per game, third in steals, first in points in the paint, fourth in second chance points, and second in defensive rating.

Whether it is Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart patrolling the frontcourt or Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson roaming the perimeter, opposing teams need to be prepared for a bruising and daunting matchup against the Pistons.

The Hornets rely heavily on points generated from driving the basketball on offense, sitting at third in the NBA with 33.2 drive points per game. Doing so allows for the likes of players like Knueppel, Ball, and Miller to find more open looks at all levels.

If the Hornets are to find success against one of the NBA’s best and hungriest defenses, shying away from contact will not be an option.

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT Josh Green (Shoulder), Grant Williams (Knee), Pat Connaughton (Calf), Tre Mann (Knee), Colin Sexton (Quad)

Pistons: QUESTIONABLE - Duncan Robinson (Hip), Caris LeVert (Knee)

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Detroit Pistons
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Cade Cunningham
Shooting Guard	Brandon Miller	Duncan Robinson
Small Forward	Kon Knueppel	Ausar Thompson
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Tobias Harris
Center	Ryan Kalkbrenner	Jalen Duren