Detroit Pistons look to bounce back in a Sunday showdown with the Hornets
By Travis Gibbs
The Detroit Pistons travels to Charlotte for a match-up with the Hornets. They look to bounce back after losing to the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
The Detroit Pistons travel to Charlotte looking to bounce back and build some momentum. Detroit is the ninth seed while the Hornets sit just two and a half games behind them.
Charlotte is coming into Sunday’s game on a three-game winning streak. Their latest win is a double-digit thumping they put on the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.
This team has caught some momentum. When point guard Kemba Walker is playing well, the Hornets can play with some of the better teams in the league.
He is the one player that Detroit will have to shut down if they play on getting the win. Walker scored 20 points and had nine assists in their last meeting at Little Caesar’s Arena on MLK day.
The Hornets won by a score of 118-107. Dwight Howard led all scorers with 21 points. He also had 17 rebounds in the game.
That is completely unacceptable and should not happen on Sunday. Howard is a shell of what he used to be. If Andre Drummond wants to live up to the “All-Star” reputation, he needs to shut him down and dominate.
Defense as a whole needs to be better. The Pistons struggled mightily defending perimeter shooting against Boston. Charlotte shoots just above 36% from outside which is right around the league average.
The Pistons need to figure something else out offensive end. They need to space the floor out more and quit with lone isolation play to Blake Griffin.
It’s not effective.
I’d really like to see guys like Langston Galloway and Luke Kennard get some more minutes in this game. The Pistons weren’t giving enough of their shooters chances to make plays.
With teams bringing on double teams and help defense against Drummond and Griffin, there’s bound to be a lot of opportunities for the guys playing on the perimeter.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy needs to emphasize getting the ball moving in transition after someone collects a defensive rebound.
There are so many players that thrive in transition – Griffin, Stanley Johnson, Ish Smith, and Drummond just to name a few.
This is where Detroit maximizes their offensive potential.
What Pistons team will show up? The one that got hot after the Griffin acquisition? Or the one that was on the floor Friday night?
Your guess is as good as mine.