Detroit Pistons: 3 things to watch vs. the Charlotte Hornets

The Detroit Pistons will always have a tacit connection to the Charlotte Hornets for what could have been.

The Pistons had the ammo to move up in the draft and when LaMelo Ball fell to number three, they might have been able to get him with the right package headed to Charlotte, which is something many fans hoped they would do.

The Pistons didn’t make the move and instead drafted Killian Hayes who was injured just seven games in the season.

LaMelo Ball is now the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year and is playing better than even his most optimistic stans could have imagined.

This will always be one of the big what-ifs from the 2020 NBA Draft.

LaMelo Ball will be just one thing to watch when the Detroit Pistons take on the Charlotte Hornets.

Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte Hornets: The battle of point guards

This was a game I had circled on my calendar, as it was going to be a chance to watch Killian Hayes and LaMelo Ball go head-to-head.

But with Hayes out, Pistons’ fans will have to settle for battles between Ball and their other young point guards.

Dennis Smith Jr. will certainly be up for the challenge and will try to play physical defense on Ball when they are matched up.

Rookie Saben Lee might also get his chance and will hope to punish Ball on the other end by making him chase him around and play defense all over the floor.

Even though this is not the matchup of lottery picks we were hoping to get, these should still be fun head-to-head battles to watch.

I am particularly interested in how Smith Jr. fares defensively, as he might be able to get into LaMelo’s head a bit.