After securing a massive 118-80 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night, the Detroit Pistons are back in action against the Charlotte Hornets, who are one of the hottest squads in the NBA lately. The Pistons will be playing away from the friendly confines of Little Caesars Arena for the first time in five games, so Detroit’s traveling basketball band will look to block out the crowd during the Eastern Conference showdown. 

The big question heading into tonight’s game, however, will be the health status of Pistons center Jalen Duren after missing the Knicks game with knee soreness. In his absence, Isaiah Stewart stepped into the starting lineup and performed admirably with 15 points (6-for-7 FGs) and three rebounds against New York, but Duren’s importance to the Pistons cannot be understated. 

The Hornets, though, are chock-full of confidence and momentum after a rough start to the 2025-26 regular season. It may have taken Charlotte a few months to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but the Hornets finally look like contenders who may be in the midst of a legitimate playoff push. 

Over the last month, the Hornets have been as impressive as any team in basketball, and Charlotte brings an active nine-game winning streak into tonight’s matchup. Over that timespan, the Hornets have toppled the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers, so Charlotte is not just dispatching a group of sorry franchises– they’re dismantling one quality team after the next. 

For the most part, the Hornets are running opposing teams out of the building with a high-octane offense that has scored at least 119 points in five of their last nine games. Charlotte, as a team, ranks No. 3 in the NBA for free throw percentage and No. 2 for second-chance points, so the Hornets are doing the little things right that combine together to form winning basketball. 

In their last game against the Hawks, which was a 126-119 victory, the Hornets came back from an early deficit to really take control of the game in the third quarter with a 38-point output after halftime. Rookie Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges all scored at least 19 points in what was an impressive win over a similarly dangerous Hawks squad. 

From a health standpoint, the Pistons may take the floor without their All-Star center for another game. Duren has battled knee soreness on and off throughout the season, but he experienced enough pain recently to miss the last two games. At the moment, Duren is listed as probable to suit up tonight, but his status will likely be confirmed prior to tip-off during shoot-around. 

Apart from JD’s knee issue, Pistons forward Ron Holland is out due to personal reasons, so Detroit will miss their energetic, tenacious spark plug on the second unit in tonight’s game. Dario Saric, who was acquired as part of the Jaden Ivey - Kevin Huerter trade, was waived to make room for Daniss Jenkins, did not travel with the team in lieu of that roster move. 

For the Hornets, guards Malaki Branham and Coby White are both out for tonight’s game, so Charlotte will roll with a shorter bench than normal against the first place team in the Eastern Conference. 

When the Pistons faced the New York Knicks on Friday night, Detroit had a difficult challenge ahead considering the result of last season’s first round playoff matchup between the two teams. The Knicks entered the matchup in second place of the Eastern Conference, so scoring has not been an issue in New York all season long, but the squad from the Big Apple suddenly found themselves unable to muster up their usual level of productivity against Detroit. 

After the game, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke about the defensive performance from his squad on Friday: 

“AT deserves a lot of credit,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought he did an amazing job from the get of picking him up, dogging him, harassing him, wearing him down and then doing all that without sending him to the free throw line, making him take tough shots over the top of us. Then Ron came in and did the same thing, and I think that's what makes that one two kind of punch so dangerous is, like, if guys want to play extended minutes, we can throw fresh bodies at him that can continue to do the same thing.”

The Hornets are a young team with no shortage of dangerous players. From LaMelo Ball’s playmaking to Miles Bridges’ scoring knack, Charlotte has youthful roster starters who know how to get a bucket when called upon, but Moussa Diabate is one player the Pistons must hone in on tonight. Now in his fourth season out of Michigan, Diabate is coming into his own as a dynamic, athletic forward who specializes in making gritty plays for the Hornets. From a stylistic point of view, Diabate would fit right in with the Pistons’ lineup given his physicality, hustle and willingness to fight for extra possessions, and he’s coming directly off a big 11-point, 15-rebound performance against the Hawks to boot. While Diabate is not usually considered as the most essential player on the Hornets’ squad, he is more than capable of tipping a tightly contested matchup in Charlotte’s favor. 

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.