The Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets will play tonight in a battle of the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets have won four in a row, so have pulled 3.5 games ahead of the Pistons, who currently have the third-worst record overall and the maximum odds to land the number one pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, though 14 percent is still a huge long shot.
Both Charlotte and Detroit are rebuilding and have been neck-and-neck for most of the season, though the Pistons have been missing best player Cade Cunningham for all but 12 games of it.
While teams like Orlando and OKC have pulled ahead and are fighting for play-in spots, the Hornets and Pistons are lagging behind and still fighting for lottery position. The two teams have a lot of similarities in terms of roster construction, so which of the East’s worst teams is ahead in their rebuilding process?
Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte Hornets? Which rebuild is going better?
Cade Cunningham vs. LaMelo Ball
Both Detroit and Charlotte are building their teams around dynamic guards in Cade Cunningham and LaMelo Ball. Both guards are team leaders who can do a little bit of everything, and their career stats are eerily similar.
I’m sure you could argue all day about which player is better, but at this point, you have to give the nod to LaMelo simply because he has played more. Both players have missed time this season, but LaMelo has played 35 games to Cade’s 12 and played 75 games last season to Cade’s 64.
Ball has also been the better 3-point shooter of the two and is putting up 23.4 points, 8.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds this season for the Hornets while Cade has been mostly sitting on the bench.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either of them, and there may be a point when Cade surpasses Ball, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Advantage: Hornets