The Detroit Pistons just have the Charlotte Hornets' number.

Behind massive nights from Cade Cunningham (33 points, five rebounds, seven assists, 13/20 from the field) and Duncan Robinson (24 points, two rebounds, three assists, 8/11 from the field, 3/9 from deep), Detroit ran away and hid in the fourth quarter and walked out of Charlotte with a 124-91 win.

Below are a handful of thoughts, stats, highlights, and takeaways, bundled into a neat package I like to call the four-point play.

One Highlight of the Night

Another angry dunk by Brandon Miller

In the moment, I thought this slam by Miller was going to be a turning point in the game.

It wasn't.

Two Game-Defining Stats

Pistons' 128.0 offensive rating
Pistons' 70.2% effective field goal percentage (100th percentile)

One of the main stories of the Hornets' early action is how good their defense has been. Coming into tonight's game against the Pistons, Charlotte boasted the league's 14th ranked defense with a 110.6 defensive rating.

The Pistons looked at that number and laughed.

Detroit cut Charlotte up to the tune of their second-most-efficient offensive outing of their first couple of games. Some shooting variance is at fault here - Detroit converted on 18 of its 37 three-point attempts, including a combined seven from Cade Cunningham (4) and Ron Holland (3) - but that only tells a part of the story.

Charlotte had no answer for Detroit in transition. Cade Cunningham sparked the game-defining 27-2 run by getting out and running off of blocks, missed shots, and Hornets turnovers. On the rare occasion Charlotte did force Detroit to play in the halfcourt, JB Bickerstaff's squad had plenty of answers as they posted a 112.9 offensive rating in those settings.

On to Brooklyn.

Three Players of the Game

Coby White
Naz Reid
Brandon Miller

Not really much to say here.

Coby White gets the 'Player of the Game' nod because it was his first game action of the season.

His first make, a deep three-pointer in a halfcourt set, is what Charlotte needs from their starting point guard. Dennis Schroder has had too many 'record scratch' moments where he catches the ball on the perimeter with space to shoot, but he doesn't even look up at the basket.

White clearly has some rust to shake off before we see the best version of him this season.

Naz Reid can make some wild passes. He had a couple of no-look dishes tonight that weren't able to get paid off with makes from his teammates. He also shot six free throws against Detroit: a notable development.

Four Takeaways From the Loss

1. Sion James' Confidence is Admirable

The second-year guard has drawn the ire of Hornets fans everwhere, and he even caught a stray from one of the most popular NBA podcasters going right now.

No matter.

James' ability to block out that noise and produce against Detroit was the embodiment of his professional nature that Charlotte fell for in the 2025 pre-draft process. He knocked down a trio of three-pointers, looked confident driving the ball, and played sticky man-to-man defense on the Pistons' go-to scorers Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson.

2. Trick-or-Treat Schroder

The roller coaster that is the Dennis Schroder experience left me nauseous tonight.

When the veteran guard has an open lane, he's able to use his quick first step and get all the way downhill for his patented scoop layup. When he's not afforded that space? That's when things start to get shaky.

Schroder turned the ball over four times in the first half and Charlotte got absolutely blitzed in his minutes on the floor. That just cannot happen right now, or ever, really, but his struggles are accentuated in Charlotte's current situation with Coby White's limited availability.

3. Second-Chance Struggles

Through three quarters the Hornets had 16 offensive rebounds but only eight second-chance points.

I say this after every game: Charlotte's dominance on the glass is imperitive to the team's success. If the Hornets are not converting on those opportunities that Moussa Diabte and Ryan Kalkbrenner (five offensive rebounds each) work so ardently to create, they're going to struggle to put a functioning offensive product on the floor.

4. Moussa's Rim Runs

Moussa Diabate is so good at running the floor and sealing a cross-matched guard under the basket to create an early advantage for the Hornets' offense. When the Hornets are losing by 20+ points you have to find something positive to pick out, right?