What: Charlotte Hornets (10-31) (5-17 away) at Detroit Pistons (4-39) (2-20 home)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Little Caesars Arena; Detroit, MI
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Pistons–Icon (blue)
Game Lines: Hornets +2.5, O/U 235.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Cody Martin-questionable (knee), Nick Richards-questionable (ankle), Gordon Hayward-out (calf), Mark Williams-out (back), Terry Rozier-out [traded :(]
Pistons: Cade Cunningham-probable (knee), Marcus Sasser-probable (quadriceps)
The Charlotte Hornets play their first game without Terry Rozier after he was traded to the Miami Heat for Kyle Lowry and a future first round pick. Lowry hasn’t made his way to Charlotte and the team seems intent to trade him before the February 8th trade deadline. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be surprising if he doesn’t suit up in a Hornets uniform at all.
With all that going on with the roster, the Hornets have to play against the Pistons, who are actually favored to win this game. They’ve been better after snapping their 28 game losing streak even though they haven’t won much. Their last give games include a 12 point win over the Wizards and single digit losses to the Rockets, Timberwolves, and Bucks x2. They went on that not-terrible streak without star guard Cade Cunningham. People are asking the question–are the Pistons better without Cade Cunningham?
They’re not asking that question, but if the Pistons lose convincingly at home to the Hornets tonight, we can start that narrative.
Monte Morris will be making his Pistons debut after missing the entire season up to this point due to a quadriceps problem. He’ll have his minutes limited, but he’s exactly the kind of player the Pistons need–sound, composed, and under control. It’ll be interesting to see if he can help smooth over the rough edges that the Pistons roster is entirely composed of.
The Pistons play fast and loose, and they don’t play defense. They’ve managed to scrap together some good offensive performances over the last few games which has made them competitive, but the defense is still Hornets-level bad. With LaMelo Ball back and healthy and running the show without Rozier, it should be a fast paced game with little defense and lots of scoring.
