The Charlotte Hornets will host a showdown against the Detroit Pistons at the Time Warner Cable Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 7 and can be seen on FxD and FxS.
The Hornets enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Bulls 102-96 on Saturday. Nicolas Batum played a pivotal role, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons, meanwhile, are coming off a 111-91 win against the Lakers on Sunday. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Reggie Jackson has been hot for the Pistons, averaging 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers over the past five games.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Hornets in this one. They rank 30th in the league in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of just 19.2%), while Detroit is fourth-best in the NBA on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 79.0%). Moreover, the Pistons are among the NBA’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking second in offensive rebound percentage at 28.7%. But the Hornets rank third at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebound percentage of 79.1%.
The Hornets are a slim two-point favorite at home against Detroit. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 196 points. The Hornets have gone 11-8 Straight Up (SU) and 10-8-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-6 SU and 6-6-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is one of the most disciplined teams in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.84.
Over on the other bench, the Pistons have a record of 12-9 both ATS and SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Detroit is 5-4 SU and ATS. The Pistons have controlled the glass with an average of 47.9 rebounds per game, third in the league.
The conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Detroit came out on top, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the last 10 meetings. They are also even ATS in their last 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Det, ATS Winner – Det, O/U – Under
Notes
Charlotte is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Charlotte’s last 15 games at home.
Charlotte is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Charlotte’s last 14 games when playing Detroit.
Charlotte is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Detroit.
Charlotte is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Charlotte is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Detroit.
Detroit is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Charlotte.
On average, Detroit puts up 99.0 points per game (ranked 20th), while Charlotte allows 99.5 points per game (ranked 13th).
Detroit ranks 24th in points per away game with 95.3 points, while Charlotte ranks 14th in points allowed at home with 98.8.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Charlotte Hornets are a solid 8-3. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Detroit Pistons have an underachieving record of 3-9.
When Charlotte allows 100 or more points, the team is a subpar 3-5. In games where it hits the century mark, Detroit is undefeated with a 9-0 record.
The Hornets have the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (104.5). The Pistons are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 99.7 (ranked seventh).
Charlotte averages fewer possessions per game than Detroit, with 97.8 compared to 98.9. However, the Hornets score an average of 1.045 points per possession, more than the 1.001 that the Pistons score.
The Charlotte Hornets have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking ninth in the league with an EFF% of 49.9%. When their opponents have a similar or higher EFF%, the Detroit Pistons are 4-6.
Charlotte makes an average of 21.5 assists per game (ranked 15th), while Detroit makes 18.1 assists per game (ranked 27th).
The Charlotte Hornets average 6.0 blocks per game for a rank of sixth. The Detroit Pistons rank lower (30th), earning 3.1 blocks each game.
Charlotte is ranked 29th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Detroit ranks 13th in defensive rebounds.
Charlotte averages 7.4 steals per game. Detroit is 7-6 when allowing at least 7 steals.
