Hawks -3.5 at Hornets 2 units
The Hawks have a big edge on the bench, the Hornets bench struggled all preseason. The Hornets starters will be competitive but DeAndre Hunter is the best defender on the court and can make the difference for the Hawks and LaMelo’s only playing 30 mins. The Hawks should take a big step forward with Quin Snyder coaching and they took the Celtics to 6 games with Snyder there for less than 2 months.
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Pistons +10 at Heat 1.5 unit
The Pistons have a really good young core with Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duran and Isiah Stewart and should be a good defensive team under Monty Williams. The Heat are dealing with some injuries this game – Caleb Martin playing through a knee injury, Haywood Highsmith out, Josh Richardson out. Gabe Vincent and Strus gone so a few new looks with some of the Heat lineups and the Pistons have the talent to keep this competitive.
