Detroit Pistons vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview, TV Channel, Injury Report, Scouting Report
It’s the first game in Detroit’s teal takeover series as the Atlanta Hawks are set to face the Pistons for the second time in 48 hours. The Pistons head into this one having lost four straight, while Atlanta boasts a solid 3-1 record against lesser competition.
Wednesday night’s game featured a highly competitive offensive matchup in which Atlanta came out on top 118-113. Detroit was in it all the way until the last 30 seconds or so, as Bojan Bogdanovic exploded for 33 points off of 6-12 3PT attempts. Cade Cunningham had his best half of the season in the first half, ending the game with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists while Jaden Ivey was out with a non-Covid illness.
For the Hawks, Trae Young proved to be a problem from the start, drawing foul call after foul call, and scoring 16 of his 35 points from the free-throw line. De’andre Hunter put in a solid performance with 17 points and some great defense, along with his teammate Dejounte Murray who completely shut down Cunningham in the second half.
Detroit now hopes to begin to build winning ways against an Atlanta team that looks to take the next step in becoming a contender.
How to Watch
When: 7:00 PM EST
Where: Little Ceasars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
TV: Bally Sports Detroit & Bally Sports Southeast
INJURY REPORT
Pistons - Jaden Ivey (non-COVID illness, Questionable), Alec Burks (foot), and Marvin Bagley III (knee)
Hawks - Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee)
Scouting Report
For obvious reasons, these two teams know each other very well, however, something to keep an eye on is the health of Jaden Ivey. He missed the previous game due to an illness and is listed as questionable for tonight. If the rookie can make it on the court he presents a real danger to an Atlanta team that has had its share of struggles on defense.
We saw it Wednesday, where the Pistons were able to score at will for most of the game from the combination of Cunningham and Bojan Bogdanovic. Ivey adds some versatility to the offense with his extreme straight-line speed and leaping ability. If he makes the start it means Trae Young will be forced to guard one of Detroit’s young guards, and Young has been known to have defensive difficulties. While Dejounte Murray’s perimeter prowess can slow down one guard, Ivey could add another dimension to Detroit’s offense that Atlanta could struggle to stop.
Along with the status of Ivey, the number of mental mistakes the Pistons make tonight will be important. They left a lot of points on the court going 15-22 from the charity stripe and missing a lot of layups. It’s a young team, so it shouldn’t be a surprise, but Dwane Casey cannot continue to allow the small errors. The Pistons will also need to limit some of the other small mental lapses they showed on Wednesday. Detroit got beat multiple times with deep in-bound passes right after a made bucket, or by Trae Young stepping into open threes when the Pistons weren’t set. These are mistakes that were to be expected from a young team but could prevent them from getting in the win column against superior competition like Atlanta tonight.
