NBA Matchups: February 11

Charlotte Hornets at Detroit Pistons (back end)

Team Totals: Hornets 116.8, Pistons 109.8

Injury Report: James Bouknight (P, wrist), Cody Martin (O, Achilles), Jalen McDaniels (O, ankle), Cade Cunningham (likely Q)

Hornets projected starters: LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre, Miles Bridges, Mason Plumlee

Pistons projected starters: Cory Joseph, Hamidou Diallo, Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart

Borrego quotes: Didn’t find anything!

Casey quotes: Said they struggled against the 1-on-1 defense from the Mavs, said Saddiq Bey got locked down by DFS and Reggie Bullock, said Killian Hayes was “day and night” with poor play against the Mavs after one of his best games.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Hornets are starting to slip a bit on defense again with subpar to bad performances in three of their last five, but the Pistons have the league’s 29th-ranked offense. The Hornets actually haven’t had a great offensive game in any of their last six with each game resulting in an O rating below their season output, averaging a 98.8 O rating in this span (they were at 112.9 before this stretch). They have run into three top-five defenses in that span (Heat, Cavs, Celtics; Clippers and Raptors also above average), but the game against the Bulls was a pretty big letdown. I’d expect the Hornets to create some buzz after this one (dammit, Mike).

*If this game is close, this should be a pretty good LaMelo spot. The Pistons will likely put Jerami Grant on Miles Bridges to set up a plus matchup here. The Pistons put CoJo on Ja Morant quite a bit last night, so that’s clearly a matchup he can exploit. Plus, we know the minutes should be sky high, assuming he avoids fouls — it’s not a foul spot here.

*Miles Bridges getting Grant does make this a bit of a tougher spot. With blowout risk, I probably wouldn’t go there.

*It’s not the best spot for the shooters, Oubre and Rozier, either. The Pistons stay home a bunch and are one of the better teams at limiting 3-point volume. I’m certainly fine playing them, but you probably want to find value later.

*It’s pretty much a pass for me on the Pistons. Saddiq Bey is interesting, though. He should get a favorable matchup against mistake-prone Kelly Oubre, and the Pistons have played him heavy minutes even when they are trailing.

*Cade was downgraded to doubtful yesterday, so you’d think he’s not playing here. Man, they bubble wrap their No. 1 pick. There’s a chance that Cory Joseph gets rested, which would get reigning G League Player of the Week Saben Lee in the mix. With how poorly Killian Hayes has played, Saben could be interesting.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers