The Detroit Pistons left a lot to be desired against the Charlotte Hornets last season, and they paid for it. Here’s how the series shapes up this season.
There’s been a lot of change in the Eastern Conference’s Carolinian team. Meanwhile the Detroit Pistons have gotten stronger and improved their roster coming off a playoff appearance.
This is the latest season preview of the Piston Powered September series, taking a look at how the Pistons stack up against all 29 NBA teams.
Last Season
The 2018-19 Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets were trapped in the no-man’s land that NBA teams are trying to avoid. They weren’t terrible, or very good, so they spent much of last year battling for the eight seed and the honor of being fodder for a first round sweep while their fans argued if blowing it up and tanking would be a better solution.
Looking back at last season, the Detroit Pistons could easily pinpoint many things that went wrong, but one of the big ones was their play against Charlotte.
The Pistons lost all four meetings against the mediocre Hornets (39-43) and for whatever reason Charlotte has had their number, winning six in a row against Detroit dating back to early 2018. The last time Detroit beat Charlotte was Oct. 8, 2017 in the pre-Blake Griffin era. Detroit was only one game away from the sixth seed, so even a split with Charlotte would have meant a big bump in the standings and who knows, maybe even a playoff win. If Detroit is going to take the next step and have a chance at a higher seed, they must take care of business against teams like Charlotte.
Luckily, the Charlotte Hornets will not be the same team next year, as noted Pistons’ killer Kemba Walker has moved on to a much better situation in Boston. It is safe to say that if the Pistons are again swept by the Hornets, something went terribly wrong in the Motor City. The two teams’ offseason moves should make Detroit heavy favorites against the lackluster Hornets.