Charlotte @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2017 ) Charlotte 108, Detroit 106

The Eastern Conference looks very top-loaded, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards again expected to leave the rest of the teams in the dust. The Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets, who open their respective seasons against each other in the inaugural NBA regular season game at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit on Wednesday, are trying to join the party after both missing out on the postseason last spring.

The Pistons looked like playoff contenders at times in 2016-17 but were hurt by injuries to point guard Reggie Jackson and some growing pains from star center Andre Drummond, who is taking on a bigger role in the offense. "That's a role (coach) Stan (Van Gundy) kind of gave me a couple of weeks ago," Drummond told reporters. "He wanted to start running the offense through me because I’m able to move the ball and able to find an open guy and get them open shots. It takes their bigger guy away from the rim, too, when I do dribble handoffs and gives me a chance to offensive rebound and attack." The Hornets are hoping to return to the playoffs as well and made one major move by bringing in former All-NBA center Dwight Howard to man the middle. Howard is expected to anchor a defense-focused front line that also includes forwards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), FS Detroit

ABOUT THE HORNETS (2016-17: 36-46): Charlotte is led by point guard Kemba Walker, who is coming off a 2016-17 campaign in which he averaged career highs of 23.2 points, 44.4 percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent shooting from 3-point range. Walker will have to get used to a new starting backcourt mate with Nicolas Batum expected to miss six-to-eight weeks with an elbow injury, and Jeremy Lamb will get first crack at the job while rookie Malik Monk comes off the bench. “[I’m] just trying to get ready," Lamb told the team's website. "An opportunity has come that I’m ready to take advantage of. Hopefully, Nic has a speedy recovery and we can get him back out there as soon as possible.”

ABOUT THE PISTONS (2016-17: 37-45): Jackson's 2016-17 campaign was a dud from the start as he missed the first 21 games with left knee issues and ended up playing just 52 games and averaging 14.5 points on 41.9 percent shooting. Jackson, who is owed $51.1 million over the next three seasons, made it through training camp healthy and will not have any restrictions on his playing time. "I’m confident, but the beginning of the season is kind of ugly for all teams," Jackson told the team's website. "We're going to have little missteps, a few of 'em here and there. I’m going to try to keep my turnovers down, but I’ve still got to be on the attack. I feel like my timing is good. Wednesday will be the first test and then keep trying to progress after that."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Pistons brought in SG Avery Bradley in a trade from Boston over the summer and will start him in the backcourt.

2. Charlotte C Cody Zeller, who averaged 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds last season, is expected to come off the bench behind Howard.

3. The Pistons took three of the four meetings last season, including both in Detroit.

PREDICTION: Pistons 108, Hornets 105