Charlotte Hornets vs. Detroit Pistons game preview

The Detroit Pistons host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, kicking off the regular season at the brand-new Little Caesars Arena.

The NBA is back and the Detroit Pistons get their regular season started with a matchup with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The game will be played at Little Caesars Arena, adding more flare to the excitement of opening night.

Detroit brings back Reggie Jackson, Tobias Harris, and Andre Drummond, but will start two different players following the departures of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris. One of the new starters will be Avery Bradley; the other will presumably be Stanley Johnson, although Stan Van Gundy isn’t telling us yet.

Van Gundy, speaking to the media on Monday, said he knows who’s going to start, but he’s not revealing the plan just yet. He did confirm that the team is going to stick with a consistent starting five, but warned the rotation is likely to change on a nightly basis.

More from PistonPowered

• Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
• Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
• The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
• Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
• Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?

If indeed SVG goes with Jackson, Bradley, Johnson, Harris, and Drummond to start, this means Detroit’s starting five didn’t play a single minute together during the team’s preseason due to rest and minor injuries. If it’s not those five, we’ll learn who when Van Gundy talks to the media around an hour before tip off.

For Detroit, this season’s concerns pick up exactly where last season’s left off: the health of Jackson. The Pistons’ point guard was never quite himself after missing the first 21 games of last year following a PRP injection in his knee to combat knee tendinitis. Jackson’s ineffective play and lack of explosiveness culminated in him being shut down for the team’s final nine games.

Jackson rested most of the summer, yet had a team-low -49 plus-minus in 74 preseason minutes, so there’s obvious concern here. Meanwhile, backup Ish Smith was a team-high +52 in his 128 tune-up minutes.

Bradley, who lead the team in preseason scoring with 19.3 points per game, and Drummond appear ready to make up for potential Jackson shortcomings, however. How much better the former is than Caldwell-Pope is being severely understated, while Drummond had a monster preseason. Detroit’s centerpiece averaged 16 points and an NBA-high 16 rebounds per game, while also contributing 3.7 assists and somehow shooting 16-of-20 from the free throw line.

On the other side, Charlotte will be without their two wing starters. Nicolas Batum is out with a torn ligament in his elbow, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is away from the team with an excused personal absence.

The Hornets will likely start Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, and newcomer Dwight Howard. If they opt to go smaller, they can insert second-year man Dwayne Bacon or rookie Malik Monk on the wing and move Williams or Zeller to the bench.

Detroit will be at full strength save for Reggie Bullock, who’ll serve a five-game suspension to open the year for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Free agent signee Langston Galloway’s knee flared up during one of the team’s last practices, but he’s expected to be available.

Last season, Detroit took three of four meetings with Charlotte, and they topped 112 points in all three victories (one game went to overtime). The Pistons and Hornets only meet three times in the regular season, and these games could be pivotal in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Next: Stan Van Gundy quotes and what to take from them

Detroit and Charlotte tip off in downtown Detroit at Little Caesars Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit.