NBA Matchups: January 28

Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic

Team Totals: Pistons 105.8, Magic 109.3

Injury Report: Josh Jackson (Q, back), Kelly Olynyk (O, protocols)

Pistons projected starters: Cory Joseph, Cade Cunningham, Hamidou Diallo, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart

Magic projected starters: Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba

Casey quotes: Said it was a minor miracle to keep fouls down on Jokic, said Cade is so good at getting his own shot no matter who is guarding him, said Cade’s driving lanes have opened up and he’s not even in tip-top shape yet.

Mosley quotes: Said was making the right plays and making extra passes to up his dimes, said Gary Harris did a good job on Kennard (sounds like he likes him in the second unit).

Stats and Notes: 

*This should be a slow game and both of these offenses are terrible as bottom-four teams this season, but both of these teams are near the bottom in defense with little improvements. These teams are also getting pretty healthy.

*This should be a great spot for Cade Cunningham. The Magic will likely throw Jalen Suggs at him, and the Magic usually trust Suggs to defend 1-on-1 too much. In the last three games, Cade has seen a nice spike in minutes at 39.1 and usage rate at 29.2. He’s also really upped his drives to 17.7 per game, he’s third in touches at 98.7 (!), and he’s had 13 potential assists per game in this span. These are $9K role numbers, so he’s a smash if the sites keep mispricing him.

*I’m not too into the rest of the Pistons. I could see Isaiah Stewart getting a little more run against the giant frontcourt, and Cory Joseph seems to have consistent minutes. Plus, if Josh Jackson doesn’t play, that could add a few extra minutes to Saddiq Bey to put him on the board.

*In the three previous games before the last one, it was Jalen Suggs being the alpha, but that role flipped with Cole being the guy. Anthony had 17 potential assists and 7.2 minutes of touch time while Suggs had just 4.1. In the last one, Suggs had some trouble with Amir Coffey, so that may have been part of it. All this said, that three-game sample may have been a fluke, so I’d expect Cole to have more upside in this matchup. I’m OK with Suggs, too.

*The Magic forwards should have some advantages here, too. There should be shot-blocking chances for Bamba, and he’ll have a ton of size to shoot over Beef Stew. I’d prefer Bamba over WCJ, but I like them both.

Boston Celtics at Atlanta Hawks