Pistons vs Hornets preview: Third time’s the charm against the pesky Hornets

Sometimes you wish you could put the season on hold when a significant injury occurs. In the case of the Pistons, the significant injury is a broken fibula to their rising star guard, Jaden Ivey. But alas, you can’t pause the season, so you have to go ahead and keep the daily grind of the NBA season going.

For most teams, a home game against the Charlotte Hornets would be a nice change of pace after facing the rough Orlando Magic, but the Pistons seem to be cursed against the Charlotte Hornets.

No matter how good or bad either team is when they play, the Hornets always seem to have the Pistons’ number, and it always seems to come in the most heartbreaking of ways. I can distinctly remember several buzzer beaters by the Hornets over the years in ways that I can’t recall against other teams.

Hopefully tonight isn’t one of those heartbreaking wins by the Hornets and the Pistons can keep their hot streak going.

Vital games

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Friday, January 3 at 19 EST
Clock: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Stamps (-5.5)

Analysis

The biggest question facing the Pistons right now is how to fill the void left by Jaden Ivey. There is no player on the team capable of replicating the things he is able to do, but the Pistons will have to change their starting lineup to fill his spot in the meantime.

The logical choice would be to move Malik Beasley into the starting lineup. He has been the only Pistons player to shoot the ball better than Jaden Ivey this season. However, he doesn’t have the ability to be a secondary ball handler and has also been a huge asset as a bench scorer this season. I think the bench rotation would wobble too much without his shooting and teams would be able to put a lot of pressure on Cade Cunningham since there wouldn’t be a secondary creator in the starting lineup.

When Jaden Ivey missed a few games earlier this season, Ausar Thompson filled his spot in the lineup, and that’s likely what the Pistons end up doing. I’m not sure how viable the spacing will be long term with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson starting, but Ausar is capable of working as a secondary ball handler and is the best perimeter defender on the team.

Ron Holland can provide similar defense to Ausar Thompson and is a bit more of a threat from the perimeter in terms of just being able to make a shot once in a while, but it may be too much to put on him at this point in his career. But you’d be able to keep players locked into the roles they already have off the bench so you don’t disrupt the bench unit as much since Holland isn’t always consistently part of that unit.

Whatever JB Bickerstaff decides to do, players like Ron Holland and Marcus Sasser will have to step up and take on a bigger load than they have been, whether they start or not. I think both players can handle it, but it will be a bit of a sink or swim moment for Ron Holland, who has been great in his limited energy burst minutes.

The Hornets are in the middle of an 8-game losing streak, but that doesn’t matter at all when it comes to facing the Pistons. Their two wins over the Pistons this season have come by a combined 4 points, one of which is a buzzer beater on a missed boxout. In both games, the Pistons had a pretty significant lead at one point in the game.

In the first game, LaMelo Ball passed out in the 4th quarter to steal the win, and in the last game, Brandon Miller did the same before going on to overtime to steal another win. For some reason, both Miller and Ball are having their best games against the Pistons, so if they both get hot again, we could be in for another long night.

Personally, I think the Hornets are better than their 7-25 record, but similar to the Pistons last season, when you don’t have reliable veterans around your solid young core, you tend to lose games you shouldn’t lose , and continue long losing streaks.

The best cure for a losing streak is to face a team that you play your best games against, so a matchup with the Pistons is just what the doctor ordered for the Charlotte Hornets.

Hopefully the Pistons don’t play like they did the last time they were favored at home against an inferior team in Utah Jazz.

Lineups

Charlotte Hornets (7-25): LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, Mark Williams

Detroit Pistons (15-18): Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Today’s question

What should the Pistons do with their starting lineup? Should they go with the status quo or do something more daring?