Preseason Preview: Detroit Pistons vs. New Orleans Pelicans

An exciting preseason tune-up between the 2019 No. 1 Pick and the 2021 No. 1 Pick is set for tonight.

The Detroit Pistons are back in action for a Friday night preseason matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans. Following their 117-96 loss on Tuesday to the Knicks, Detroit looks to build winning habits against a Pelicans team coming off a shootout 129-125 win against the Bulls. Despite their poor performance in their preseason opener, the Pistons present a lot of intriguing storylines.

How To Watch

With this game occurring during the Red Wings - Maple Leafs preseason game, Bally Sports will not be broadcasting this game on the usual Bally Sports Detroit channel.

When: 8 pm EST
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
TV: NBA League Pass

The Progression Of Killian Hayes

Detroit’s 2020 No. 7 pick looked like a new player Tuesday night. He showed an aggressiveness, former Pistons coach and TNT broadcaster Stan Van Gundy, said he hadn’t seen in his first two years. Hayes finished the game with 11 points, 5 assists and 1 rebound off of 5-of-13 shooting in 20 minutes played. He showcased his new, smoother jump shot in the first half when he made a three pointer and a confidence fans have seldom seen from him. Look for him to continue this assertiveness as he tries to prove his worth to Dwane Casey.

Cade Cunningham Turnovers

A big topic of conversation surrounding the Pistons and Cunningham coming into the season was the turnovers and inefficiencies of No. 2. In his rookie year, Cade averaged 3.7 turnovers. It was to be expected for a young guard with the high usage rate he had, however, the mistakes were a point of focus for his offseason. On media day last Monday, Cunningham went as far as saying he had kept track of every turnover he had over the summer. Unfortunately for the 21-year old, he had a disappointing preseason opener with just 7 points and a big 4 in the turnover category. It was just one game, and a preseason game at that, so fans shouldn’t pull the alarms anytime soon, but it’s a problem worth monitoring tonight.

The Zion Nightmare

After spending all of last year recovering from a foot injury, the explosive former No. 1 pick is back on the hardwood, much to the distress of opposing coaches. For the Pistons especially, Zion presents a difficult matchup. Matching up with the big man at the four will not be easy for Dwane Casey, as their new starting power forward Bojan Bogdanovic likely can’t deal with the Duke product. While not usually being undersized, Bogdanovic is giving up 60 pounds to Williamson, likely forcing Casey’s hand to give Isaiah Stewart his first start at the four. That could mean rookie Jalen Duren gets his first start, in what would be a huge Pistons starting lineup. Though, maybe Detroit tries their luck with the same lineup from Tuesday. Regardless, the 6-6, 284-pound primetime dunker makes for great TV.