Andre Gomes
Charlotte @ Detroit
Pick: Detroit -3
Charlotte will be without MKG tonight and that's a huge blow for a team which doesn't have a lot of quality options on its roster. Once again the Hornets' offense will rely on Kemba Walker, but Detroit is a nice defensive team which now has Avery Bradley to guard Kemba 1*1. The Hornets lack quality options on the bench and I don't see them being able to torch a fairly good Detroit defense in here.
On the other hand, Reggie Jackson had a fairly poor preseason, but unlike last season he will have competition for the PG position, as Ish Smith was amazing in the preseason. Detroit seems to have more offensive options than Charlotte with Bradley, Harris, Reggie/Ish and even Drummond had a good preseason where he shot 16-20 FT! If the Hornets lacked depth with its full roster, now without MKG and Batum, Charlotte's offense becomes exclusively dependent on Kemba. Given all of these factors, I expect Detroit to pick up a comfortable win tonight.