The Detroit Pistons will try to start their season on a high note at home tonight against the Orlando Magic in the opening game of the regular season.
It’s a battle of two rebuilding teams looking to establish themselves as the next bad team to get good, and both teams are eager to show that they are further along in their rebuild.
The Magic are getting some preseason hype after a solid preseason while the Pistons have people wondering if they are the frontrunners in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes after getting spanked in all four preseason games.
But that is in the past, so Detroit hopes to flip the switch tonight and get a winning performance in front of an eager home crowd that will be buzzing.
Both teams will be missing some key players, so the game may come down to which team is better able to take advantage and impose their style on the other.
For Detroit to start the season with a win, there are three key matchups they need to win.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: Key matchups for the game
Killian Hayes vs. the Orlando backups
The Magic will be missing both Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris from their second unit backcourt, which should open the door for Killian Hayes to have a big game against RJ Hampton and the rest of the Orlando backups.
Hayes was one of the positives of the preseason for the Detroit Pistons, as he played aggressively on offense and looked comfortable in the mid-range and pulling up for 3-point shots without hesitation.
But the question with Hayes is whether he can do it night after night. He should get a chance with so many guards out and I hope to see an aggressive Hayes fill the stat sheet as he did against OKC in the preseason.
Hayes needs to take at least 10 shots off the bench (hopefully more) and be the initiator on offense for the second unit. He should be able to use his strength to get to the hoop, so if he can knock down a few early, it should open up the offense a little more for lobs to Jalen Duren.
The Pistons should have an advantage in the backcourt with so many Magic injuries, but Hayes has to take advantage and establish himself tonight.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: Key matchups for the game
Saddiq Bey vs. Franz Wagner
This is a great matchup of two small forwards and both guys will be eager to get the upper hand, as both players have played well against each other’s teams.
Bey has averaged 20.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in seven contests against the Magic and Wagner has averaged 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists against the Pistons, so it’s pretty much been a wash in the head-to-head matchups.
Bey did have his big 51 point night against the Magic but Wagner had 24 and 26 points against Detroit in the final two matchups of last season.
For Bey, it will really just come down to which guy we get, as he has been too much all or nothing in his career, either lighting it up or unable to make a shot. Hopefully we’ll see more consistency and efficiency out of him this season, but he has a tough matchup tonight against Wagner, who looks ready to make a huge leap this season.
One area Bey has dominated is on the boards, and Detroit will need him tonight, as they will be at a size disadvantage with Marvin Bagley III out with injury.
Both teams will look to use their talented backcourts to set up the forwards for shots, so this game may come down to which guy makes more of them from long range. Will we see more of the 51 point Bey tonight or the guy who often went 0-for-8 from long range last season?
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: Key matchups for the game
The backcourts
Tonight’s Detroit vs. Orlando game will feature two of the best young backcourts in the NBA with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey facing off against Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs.
The first question will be who is going to guard who, as we may see Cunningham mark Suggs while Ivey takes on the quicker Anthony. This is one of the advantages Ivey provides this season, as he is lighting quick and has the length to be a disruptive defender against either guard position, which will allow Cunningham to move onto the slower guy.
Cade only averaged 7.3 points, four rebounds and 3.7 assists per game against the Magic last season, so this may be a game where we see him act more as a facilitator who tries to get his teammates going.
This is a matchup the Pistons absolutely have to win, as they are undersized against the Magic (especially at power forward) and will probably give up some easy put backs on offensive rebounds.
With Bey and Wagner likely to cancel each other out, this game will come down to whether the Magic bigs are able to impose their will more than the Pistons’ guards. I’d love to see Cade Cunningham playing more down low in this one, using his size to post up the smaller Magic guards and forcing them to double team, which should lead to a lot of potential looks for Ivey, Bey and Bogdanovic off kick outs and pick-and-roll.
The Magic have some good shot blockers in the paint, but Detroit can’t just chuck 3-point shots all night if they want to win. They still need to play from the inside out, but do it with the guards posting up and penetrating off the bounce.