Charlotte Hornets head to Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons
The Charlotte Hornets own a road record of 2-4, can they improve their record away from home by putting the brakes on the Detroit Pistons?
It’s pretty much a given that in order to have success in the NBA, you have to win road games. Unfortunately, the Charlotte Hornets (6-6) haven’t seen much success away from the Spectrum Center this year. Something to note, however, is that 3 of their 4 road losses have come by a combined 5 points. So, they’ve had opportunities to win on the road, but their chronic inability to win close games has certainly haunted them this season.
It’s still early in the season, however, so the Hornets have time to right the ship, but they’ll need to get it done rather soon if they want to contend later in the year. They can start by defeating the Detroit Pistons Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
It will be their first meeting of the season and will be the first of four meetings against Detroit. The Hornets took 2 of 3 last season against the Pistons.
Charlotte is fresh off a 132-133 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They are tied for 7th in the Eastern Conference. Detroit’s last game was a 124-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks. They are 6th in the East.
Charlotte Hornets at Detroit Pistons
3:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 11th, 2018
Little Caesar’s Arena
Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Jeremy Lamb – Groin (Game-Time Decision)
DET:
Luke Kennard – Shoulder (Out)
Things to watch for:
Detroit ranks just 28th in the NBA field goal percentage and 27th in three-point field goal percentage. This bodes well for a Hornets squad that ranks 4th in the league in offensive rating. If Charlotte can make sure that Detroit struggles from the field, this could be an easy win. Then again, Detroit ranks 9th in the association in defensive rating, so they could stymie Charlotte’s offensive output. Andre Drummond leads the league in rebounding with 16.1 a game. Charlotte has struggled at times against effective rebounders. Let’s hope that isn’t the case in this game.
Keys to the game:
Given the Pistons’ ability on the glass, it’s imperative that the Hornets take efficient shots and try to create space. Detroit leads the NBA in fouls per game, so attacking Drummond and Blake Griffin and getting them in foul trouble would be wise, as well.
Five of Charlotte’s six losses have been by 4 points or less. If this game comes down to crunch-time, they have to find a way to come out with a win. Losing close games in a regular fashion can damage team morale and that’s something that can be difficult to fix.
This not only falls upon the players, but the coaching staff, as well. They’ll need to come up with some kind of game-plan other than just relying on Kemba Walker in the waning seconds of games.
More. Three players who stood out in OT loss to 76ers. light
As mentioned before, Charlotte won 2 of 3 against Detroit last season, including one in Detroit. There’s no reason they can’t win this one, but they’ll need to mitigate Detroit’s rebounding and try to keep their bigs in foul trouble. We’ll see if they can get it done Sunday.