Charlotte Hornets take on the Detroit Pistons to close 2019-20 preseason

The start of the 2019-2020 NBA regular-season is nearly upon us. Before that, however, is one last preseason encounter for the Charlotte Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets (1-3) finally put a tick in the win column with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Sure, it’s merely the preseason, but wins of any kind may be few and far between for this squad, so it’s nice to get one when you can.

They’ll look to duplicate that result when they head home to the Queen City to take on the Detroit Pistons (2-1) in their final game before their regular-season starts. This also means one final game before the team decides which rookies and two-way players potentially stick with the team or get assigned to the Greensboro Swarm.

Will first-round draft pick PJ Washington take up a roster spot? I think he’s played well enough so far, but one more game as a starter would essentially point to him staying on the team. At this point, I think it would be a disservice to both him and the team to assign him to the G-League, but that decision is ultimately up to the team.

As mentioned before, Charlotte’s last game was a 120-99 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. They are tied for 14th in the Eastern Conference. Detroit’s last outing was a 106-86 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They are tied for 9th in the East.

Charlotte Hornets vs Detroit Pistons
7:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, October 16th, 2019
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Marvin Williams – Illness (Probable)

Cody Martin – Ankle (Questionable)

Nicolas Batum – Achillies (Out)

DET:

Blake Griffin – Hamstring (Questionable)

Andre Drummond – Rest (Questionable)

Markieff Morris – Illness (Questionable)

Things to watch for:

Well, that could certainly a blow to the Pistons’ roster. Charlotte’s bigs would have a much easier time in this if those three don’t play and being the preseason, there’s a good chance they don’t. It’s not like they’re unproven commodities.

This may come as a shock to fans, but the Hornets have quite the streak going over the Pistons, having won six straight regular-season games against them.

That obviously has no real bearing on this one, but if Detroit is due, it would better to lose in the preseason. Granted, this is a much different team than the ones Charlotte has sported the past few years.

Keys to the game:

Obviously, if Detroit’s injured players can’t or don’t go, then attacking the interior should be a priority. Finding success inside will also lead to double teams, freeing up open shooters behind the arc. Properly using the inside-out game would be very beneficial.

Speaking of threes, Charlotte shot very well from deep in their last game, making 43% of their attempts from three. If they can do that again, this game is in the bag. One thing they do need to focus on, though, is limiting turnovers.

Charlotte had 22 turnovers in their last game. Great shooting can help mitigate turnovers, but if the Hornets come out cold, coughing up the ball too many times will do them in. Take care of the rock.

The NBA regular season is just around the corner and even though most don’t expect much from this Hornets team, many are still very excited to see what they can do. Can they win two in a row and enter the season with some much-needed momentum? We’ll find out Wednesday night at the Hive.