Skip to content
Courtside

Game plans

Thursday, November 12

How each team beats its opponent: the zones to attack, what to take away, the lineup to target, the key scorer's weak spots, and the tempo and glass edges.

01Plan any matchup

Based on 2025-26, with the current roster
at

Hornets at Pistons

How the Hornets beat the Pistons

  1. TurnoversTake care of the ballThe Pistons force turnovers on 14.1% of plays (1st) and the Hornets give it away on 12.8% (24th of 30).
  2. Key scorerKey scorer: Cade CunninghamCunningham (23.9 points per game): best from midrange (49% on 174 shots, league 42%), worst at the rim (61%, league 66%).
  3. TempoSlow it downThe Hornets play at 96.1 possessions per 48 minutes (26th in pace), the Pistons at 98.3 (18th). Make it a half-court game.

How the Pistons beat the Hornets

  1. Take awayTake away the above-the-break 337.3% of Hornets shots come from above the break (2nd most) and they make 36.3% (5th). The Pistons defense there ranks 1st (33.1% allowed).
  2. TurnoversPressure the ballThe Pistons force turnovers on 14.1% of plays (1st), and the Hornets give it away on 12.8% (24th of 30).
  3. Key scorerKey scorer: Brandon MillerMiller (20.2 points per game): best from the corners (42% on 71 shots, league 39%), worst from midrange (37%, league 42%).
  4. TempoPush the paceThe Pistons play at 98.3 possessions per 48 minutes (18th in pace), the Hornets at 96.1 (26th). Run and make them keep up.
FG% by zone. Offense rank: 1st = best shooting. Defense rank: 1st = lowest FG% allowed, 30th = most.
ZoneCHA offenseDET defenseDET offenseCHA defense
At the rim64.8% (23rd)61.9% (2nd)66.3% (15th)65.1% (9th)
Paint42.8% (22nd)43.8% (12th)42.0% (24th)43.8% (11th)
Midrange35.8% (29th)39.7% (5th)41.9% (15th)39.7% (6th)
Corner 342.8% (3rd)38.5% (11th)37.3% (20th)38.8% (16th)
Above-the-break 336.3% (5th)33.1% (1st)34.8% (19th)35.1% (17th)

02Matchups on Thu, Nov 12

4 games
  • Raptors at 76ers7:00 PM ET

    How the Raptors beat the 76ers

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Jaylen BrownBrown (28.7 points per game): best in the paint (50% on 434 shots, league 44%), worst from midrange (40%, league 42%).

    How the 76ers beat the Raptors

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Kawhi LeonardLeonard (27.9 points per game): best in the paint (55% on 339 shots, league 44%), worst from above the break (38%, league 35%).
    2. Take awayTake away the rim31.2% of Raptors shots come at the rim (8th most) and they make 67.7% (7th). The 76ers defense there ranks 14th (65.4% allowed).

    Based on 2025-26, with the current roster

    Full preview →Full plan
  • Pistons at Wizards7:00 PM ET

    How the Pistons beat the Wizards

    1. GlassCrash the offensive glassThe Pistons grab 30.9% of their misses (3rd), and the Wizards rank 30th on the defensive glass (70.2%).
    2. TurnoversPressure the ballThe Pistons force turnovers on 14.1% of plays (1st), and the Wizards give it away on 13.2% (26th of 30).

    How the Wizards beat the Pistons

    1. GlassFinish possessions: box outThe Pistons grab 30.9% of their misses (3rd) and the Wizards rank 30th on the defensive glass (70.2%).
    2. TurnoversTake care of the ballThe Pistons force turnovers on 14.1% of plays (1st) and the Wizards give it away on 13.2% (26th of 30).

    Based on 2025-26, with the current roster

    Full preview →Full plan
  • Mavericks at Timberwolves8:00 PM ET

    How the Mavericks beat the Timberwolves

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Anthony EdwardsEdwards (28.8 points per game): best from the corners (46% on 54 shots, league 39%), worst from midrange (44%, league 42%).

    How the Timberwolves beat the Mavericks

    1. Key scorerKey scorer: Cooper FlaggFlagg (21.0 points per game): best in the paint (46% on 360 shots, league 44%), worst from above the break (30%, league 35%).

    Based on 2025-26, with the current roster

    Full preview →Full plan
  • Hornets at Suns9:00 PM ET

    How the Hornets beat the Suns

    1. GlassCrash the offensive glassThe Hornets grab 30.5% of their misses (4th), and the Suns rank 27th on the defensive glass (71.9%).
    2. TurnoversTake care of the ballThe Suns force turnovers on 13.9% of plays (3rd) and the Hornets give it away on 12.8% (24th of 30).

    How the Suns beat the Hornets

    1. Take awayTake away the above-the-break 337.3% of Hornets shots come from above the break (2nd most) and they make 36.3% (5th). The Suns defense there ranks 5th (34.0% allowed).
    2. GlassFinish possessions: box outThe Hornets grab 30.5% of their misses (4th) and the Suns rank 27th on the defensive glass (71.9%).

    Based on 2025-26, with the current roster

    Full preview →Full plan
How this works

Each plan is a short list of rules applied to both teams' season numbers. Every item shows its numbers and ranks out of 30 so you can check it. At most 5 items per team, the biggest edges first.

  • Attack: a shot zone where the team is good (top 10 in FG% or in share of its shots) and the opponent's defense there is bottom 8 in FG% allowed (bottom 10 if that finds fewer than 2).
  • Take away: the opponent's favorite zone (top 5 in share, top 8 if fewer than 2 qualify) where they are also efficient (top 10 FG%), with the team's own defensive rank there.
  • Target: of the opponent's 5 most-used lineups, the one that allows the most points per 100 possessions, with at least 100 possessions and at least 3 points worse than the team's own defensive rating. All 5 players must still be on the team.
  • Key scorer: the opponent's top scorer on the current roster (100+ shots). Best and worst zones compare his FG% with the league average there (50+ shots per zone). A side lean shows only when he has 60+ shots on each side and a gap of 6+ points. Left and right are as our shot charts draw them (rim at the bottom), and shots at the rim are left out of the side split.
  • Tempo and glass: a pace gap of 2+ possessions per 48 minutes; offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding and turnovers when one team is top 5 and the other bottom 5 (widened to 8 when fewer than 2 edges show up).

Data: team zones come from every counted regular season shot (made and missed; backcourt heaves left out; left and right corner 3s combined). Defense zones use the shots each team allowed. Lineups come from our play-by-play lineup stints. Before a team has played 10 games this season, its plan uses last season's numbers with today's roster, and lineups that no longer exist are skipped.

What it cannot see: there is no tracking data, so no defender distance, individual matchups or play types (pick and roll, isolation, post ups). Team zone numbers include every player a team used, even ones who have left. Injuries and rest are not in the plan, and season numbers can hide a recent change in form.