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Keys to Beat Pistons

By Matt Gorry, hornets.com

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Key Matchup: Al Jefferson vs. Andre Drummond

Two of the most dominant big men in the league will square off Wednesday when Charlotte takes on the Pistons… Big Al Jefferson was the only player in the Eastern Conference and one of only five players in the NBA to average at least 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds en route to All-NBA Third Team honors, averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks on the season. Jefferson scored in double-figures 69 times, including 45 games with 20 points or more and 13 games with at least 30 points… The big man hasn’t missed a beat to open the 2014-15 preseason, averaging 13.7 points to lead to the Hornets to an early 2-1 mark… His counterpart in the matchup, Andre Drummond, is a strong, young power in the paint. The third-year big man turned in one of the best seasons in franchise history during his second campaign in Detroit, racking up 57 double-doubles and setting a club record for field goal percentage in a single season at 62.3 percent. He also pulled down 440 offensive boards, the highest total in the league since the 1997-98 season… The battle in the paint between Jefferson and Drummond could prove to be the difference in the game.

Scouting the Hornets (2-1 preseason)

The Hornets won their second-straight preseason contest Monday, beating the Orlando Magic, 99-97, in the first Hornets game at Time Warner Cable Arena… Five players scored in double-figures on the night, led by Al Jefferson’s 20 points… Michael Kidd-Gilchrist stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals… Kemba Walker flirted with a triple-double with 11 points, six boards and five assists before leaving in the third quarter with a left knee contusion… Gary Neal, who led the team in scoring the past two games, pitched in 10 points off the bench with three assists… Reserve point guard Jannero Pargo led a furious fourth-quarter comeback for the Hornets, pouring in 16 points to go with an assist and a steal in just 12 minutes of action. The 11-year vet reignited the crowd at Time Warner Cable Arena and helped Charlotte erase a five-point deficit in the final frame and win at the buzzer… Lance Stephenson scored six of his eight points in the opening frame in his first game in front of the home fans. Stephenson added four highlight-worthy assists and four rebounds… Cody Zeller tallied eight points, six boards and three assists… Bismack Biyombo snagged four offensive rebounds and seven total to go along with seven points and two blocked shots… PJ Hairston added three points and seven rebounds… Gerald Henderson (hamstring) and Noah Vonleh (hernia) sat out.

Scouting the Pistons (2-1 preseason)

The Pistons head to Charlotte coming off their first loss of the preseason following a 91-89 setback to the Washington Wizards on Sunday… Detroit opened the game on a 10-2 run, but the Wizards battled back to cut the Pistons lead to just one (22-21) at the end of the first. Detroit led with 16.2 seconds left, 89-88, but Kevin Seraphin scored on a dunk with 5.7 seconds remaining to give Washington a 90-89 advantage…Greg Monroe had a chance to win the game, but missed a shot with 2.9 seconds left…Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 21 points and Monroe added 17 points and 10 rebounds…Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 points and Kyle Singler added 11 points off the bench… Detroit made significant changes to its roster after a 29-53 season in 2013-14… The Pistons added three of the top available 3-point shooters in this year’s free agency class in Jodie Meeks, D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler. Meeks and Augustin were among two of only 26 players in the NBA that shot 40 percent or better from 3-point range last season; Butler shot 39.4 percent… Detroit remains the toughest team in the paint behind Drummond, Monroe and Josh Smith, leading the NBA last season in offensive rebounds, averaging 14.6 boards per game. The Pistons also averaged a league-high 51.9 points per game in the paint, edging the Houston Rockets (50.9)… Point guard Brandon Jennings ranked second in the Eastern Conference in assists per game last year with 7.6 to power the Pistons offensively… The Pistons drafted 6-foot-6 point guard Spencer Dinwiddie out of Colorado with the 38th overall pick to add depth behind Jennings… Singler (Duke) and Lorenzo Brown (North Carolina State) return to North Carolina after playing collegiately in the area… Dinwiddie (knee), Will Bynum (hamstring) and Aaron Gray (heart) will sit against the Hornets.