Charlotte Hornets seek third straight win over the Detroit Pistons

The Charlotte Hornets have only been above .500 five times this season. Can they do it again when they host the Detroit Pistons?

The Charlotte Hornets (15-15) have been at .500 thirteen times this season. To most Hornets fans, that shouldn’t come as a shock. What might come as a bit of a shock is that both times Charlotte has faced off against the Detroit Pistons (15-14), those wins put them above .500, while at the same time, putting Detroit back down to .500. It’s funny how that stuff works out.

They’ll have a chance to do that a third time when the Hornets finish off their five-game home stand against Detroit Friday night in Charlotte. It was only nine days ago when these two squads faced off against each other, with the Hornets narrowly defeating the Pistons, 108-107. If you remember, Jeremy Lamb helped seal the deal by hitting a long two-pointer in the closing seconds of the game.

Charlotte’s last game was a 110-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are currently 7th in the Eastern Conference. Detroit’s last outing was a 129-123 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are half a game ahead of the Hornets, sitting at the 6th spot in the East. This is the third of four games in the season series.

Charlotte Hornets vs Detroit Pistons
7:00 p.m. EST, Friday, December 21st, 2018
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Injury Report:

CHA:

None

DET:

Henry Ellenson – Ankle (Out)

Glenn Robinson III – Ankle (Out)

Ish Smith – Groin (Out)

Things to watch for:

Detroit gives up the 2nd most personal fouls per game in the NBA. It certainly showed in their last game as the Hornets went to the line 37 times, making 29 of their shots.

Look for Charlotte to try and get both Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin in foul trouble. Kemba Walker seemed to break out of his shooting slump last game. We’ll see if he’s finally back to his dependable self.

Keys to the game:

I already mentioned Detroit’s propensity for fouling and with nearly 30 of their points coming from the line in their last game, it would be prudent for the Hornets to concentrate on that again. Something else to work on is focusing on better shot selection and moving the ball on offense more.

Charlotte only shot 42% from the field in their last game against the Pistons. That’s a large reason why the game had to come down to a buzzer beater.

If the Hornets want to make it three straight against the Pistons, they’ll have to work on getting the ball into the paint and drawing fouls on top of scoring more efficiently. If they do, they’ll come out with a win on Friday night.