The 3-1 Charlotte Hornets have the biggest test of their early season waiting for them tonight.

Fresh off of a demoralizing loss to the Knicks, the Detroit Pistons return home licking their wounds to face the Hornets in a matchup that was dominated by Cade Cunningham and his crew last season.

On paper, this matchup definitely tilts in favor of the burly Pistons. But upsets happen, right?

Let's see if anyone at our staff at Charlotte Hornets On SI is willing to ride with the Bugs tonight.

Zachary Roberts: Pistons 108, Hornets 90

I don't see a path to being competitive here. The Hornets are surprisingly 3-1, but they've lost to the only good team they've seen. And they lost by nearly 50. They barely had the firepower to keep pace with Detroit’s ferocious defense last year, and it is way worse this year. The Pistons are known to bully opponents, and they'll bully the Hornets badly here.

Schuyler Callihan: Pistons 115, Hornets 95

At full strength, the Bugs probably put up a good fight here. See what I did there? Well, Jalen Duren won't be available so I guess it's not a direct comparison to the situation that played out last year. This is going to be one of those games where guys are going to have to create their own shot and that's where Brandon Miller struggles. Detroit locks him down, thus locking Charlotte's offense down.

Evan Campos: Pistons 112, Hornets 102

Detroit was stylistically a troublesome matchup for Charlotte last season, with the Hornets losing all three meetings, and that has not changed in 2026-27. The Pistons have a group of perimeter defenders that have given opposing lead guards and wings fits, along with a switch-heavy defense, two things Charlotte struggled against a year ago and has yet to prove they can consistently beat. Having one of the Eastern Conference's best players in Cade Cunningham presents another challenge in itself.

I expect Charlotte to be competitive throughout, especially with Detroit playing on the second night of a back-to-back and missing Jalen Duren. Ultimately, I don’t see the Hornets matching the level of collective two-way basketball the Pistons are playing right now.

Matt Alquiza: Pistons 108, Hornets 97

A clean sweep in favor of Detroit.

Some things going in Charlotte's favor: Detroit is on the second night of a back-to-back, and Jalen Duren is going to miss the game with an ailing hamstring. That's all I have.

The Pistons' physical brand of basketball gave the Hornets fits last season, and I don't see a path to that changing ahead of tonight's game in the Motor City. Detroit is one of the best defensive teams in basketball (2nd in the league in defensive eFG%, opposing teams shoot and make fewer three-pointers against Detroit than they do against an average defense), and their feisty stable of wing defenders is tailor-made to slow down the shorthanded Hornets.