Detroit could be missing a lot of bodies tonight.
What: Charlotte Hornets (21-45) at Detroit Pistons (15-51)
When: 7:00 PM EST
Where: Little Caesar’s Arena; Detroit, Mich.
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets — Association (white); Pistons — Icon (blue)
Injury report
CHA: LaMelo Ball (ankle surgery), OUT; Cody Martin (knee soreness), OUT.
DET: Bojan Bogdanović (Achilles), OUT; Alec Burks (foot), OUT; Cade Cunningham (shin), OUT; Hamidou Diallo (ankle), OUT; Jalen Duren (ankle), PROBABLE; Killian Hayes (hand), PROBABLE; Isaiah Stewart (hip), OUT.
Following an impressive win over the New York Knicks, the Charlotte Hornets are set to face the Detroit Pistons, losers of nine-straight games due in large part to a roster that’s been hampered by injuries.
The Pistons will be without five players tonight and could be down as many as seven depending on the availability of Jalen Duren and Killian Hayes. This will be the final meeting of the season with Detroit, who have lost 13 of 14 games since pulling out a 118-112 win over the Hornets on Feb. 3. As a result, the Pistons currently have the worst record in the league and the best lottery odds for this year’s draft.
Detroit recently bought out Nerlens Noel and The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Bojan Bogdanović could miss the remainder of the season with an Achilles injury. Hamidou Diallo is likely to miss the rest of the year as well. It doesn’t look like things will be turning up in Detroit much before the season comes to an end.
Jaden Ivey has played really well all season long, but especially so in recent weeks. Over his last 10 games, the rookie guard has averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game and is drawing a foul on 16.4 percent of his shot attempts. Per Cleaning The Glass, Ivey ranks in the 98th percentile among guards in that category. It seems like the blazing speed, explosive athleticism and strength as a driver and finisher have already translated to the NBA. He and James Wiseman both had big games last time out.
Jaden Ivey tonight:
26 PTS – 5 REB – 12 ASTJames Wiseman tonight:
21 PTS – 5 REB – 77% FG pic.twitter.com/4G9lFoCKdR— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 8, 2023
After ending New York’s nine-game winning streak, it’d be ideal avoid being the team that Detroit ends their nine-game losing streak against. The Hornets’ offense is only slightly worse than Detroit’s and their defense is markedly better, especially over the last 10 games when they rank second in the entire league in defensive rating. In that same stretch, Gordon Hayward is averaging 19.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 53.8/45.5/77.8 shooting splits and the Hornets have a record of 6-4. Pretty good.
Tonight is the last road game before the Hornets are back at the Hive for a five-game homestand that will last for the better part of a week and a half. The fellas are about to get some home cookin’ in a couple days.