Charlotte Hornets-Detroit Pistons Observations 03.08.15

▪ Sunday’s Charlotte Hornets-Detroit Pistons game was officiated by a two-man crew. Referee J.T. Orr came down with an illness, so Ron Garretson and Pat Fraher did the game without a third official.

▪ Anthony Tolliver was a 3-point threat for the then-Bobcats’ last season and a great locker-room guy. But it was hard much of the time to find a good defensive matchup for him. Based on his three first-half fouls, the same is true of him as a Piston.

▪ Acquiring point guard Reggie Jackson from the Oklahoma City Thunder has helped make the Pistons a more up-tempo team.

▪ Mo Williams has obviously been a terrific addition offensively. But he’s limited defensively. Sometimes there are ways to compensate for that, but not in every matchup.

▪ It sure didn’t help the Hornets’ defense Sunday that small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist got in quick foul trouble. MKG is such a good team defender he can cover a lot of flaws.

This story was originally published March 8, 2015 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets-Detroit Pistons Observations 03.08.15."