Sometimes you wish you could take a break from the season when a serious injury occurs. In the case of the Pistons, this serious injury is a broken fibula to their rising star guard Jaden Ivey. But unfortunately you can’t pause the season, so you have to keep going 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 hard-fought Orlando Magic, but the Pistons appear to be cursed against the Charlotte Hornets.

No matter how well or poorly either team plays, the Hornets always seem to have the Pistons’ number, and always in the most heartbreaking way. I can clearly remember several buzzer-beating wins by the Hornets over the years that I didn’t remember against other teams.

Hopefully tonight isn’t one of those heartbreaking wins for the Hornets and the Pistons can continue their hot streak.

Game Vitalities

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Friday, January 3rd, 7pm EST
Regard: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Opportunities: Piston (-5.5)

analysis

The biggest question facing the Pistons right now is how they will fill the void left by Jaden Ivey. There isn’t a single player on the team who can replicate his skills, but the Pistons will have to make changes to their starting lineup in the meantime to fill his spot.

The logical choice would be to move Malik Beasley into the starting lineup. He was 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 big asset as a backup this season. I think that without his shooting, the bench rotation would falter too much and teams would be able to put a lot of pressure on Cade Cunningham since there wouldn’t be a second creator in the starting lineup.

When Jaden Ivey missed a few games earlier this season, it was Ausar Thompson who took his place in the lineup, and that’s exactly what the Pistons will likely end up doing. I’m not sure how realistic the spacing will be in the long run with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson in the starting lineup, but Ausar can work 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 distance in terms of just taking the occasional shot, but at this point it might be too much to weigh on his career. But you could keep the players in the roles they already have off the bench so you don’t disrupt the bench unit as much since Holland isn’t always part of that unit all the time.

Whatever JB Bickerstaff decides to do, players like Ron Holland and Marcus Sasser will have to get stronger and take on a greater burden than before, regardless of whether they’re in the starting lineup 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 minutes.

The Hornets are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, but that doesn’t matter at all when it comes to facing the Pistons. Their two wins against the Pistons this season combined for four points, one of which was a buzzer-beater on a missed boxout. In both games, the Pistons had a pretty big lead at times.

In the first game, LaMelo Ball was knocked out in the 4th quarter to steal the win, and in the final game, Brandon Miller did the same before going on in overtime to steal another win. For some reason, both Miller and Ball have their best games against the Pistons. So if they allow either of them to get hot again, we could be in for another long night.

Personally, I think the Hornets are better than their 7-25 record, but much like the Pistons last season, you tend to lose games you shouldn’t lose and move on when you don’t have reliable veterans around you Solid young core has long streak of bad luck.

The best cure for a losing streak is to play against a team that you play your best games against. So a match against the Pistons is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Charlotte Hornets.

Hopefully the Pistons don’t play like they did last time when they were favored at home against an inferior team, the 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

Question of the day

What should the Pistons do with their starting lineup? Should they stick with the status quo or take a bolder approach?