Brooklyn Nets vs. Detroit Pistons preview: The road trip begins

That’ll help. Following a disastrous loss to the Memphis Grizzlies the night before, the Brooklyn Nets took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. The Nets got the job done and came away with a much needed victory. If it makes the Nets feel better, the Grizzlies beat the 76ers as well.

When you were on track to be one of the worst teams in professional sports history, being merely bad is a bit of a blessing. When we last saw the Detroit Pistons, they were in the midst of the longest losing streak in NBA history. They wound up tying the 76ers, but they haven’t sunk to those lows since then. They were on the road to play the Miami Heat on Tuesday night but lost a close one late.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:00 p.m. ET.

Injuries

No Ben Simmons Cam Johnson or Cam Thomas. Day’Ron Sharpe is questionable with a right wrist contusion. Noah Clowney remains with the big club.

Quentin Grimes is out with a right knee injury.

The game

Brooklyn won games one and two in December. In a truly hilarious bit, they went all out to beat the Pistons but punted the home game the next night against the Milwaukee Bucks. What a time.

Road trips test your character, and road trips near the end of the season when you’re fighting for your season are the biggest challenge possible. Brooklyn’s five game road trip will take them to:

• Detroit
• Charlotte
• Cleveland
• Orlando
• Indiana
• San Antonio

By the time they’re back, we’ll know definitively if they have a chance to make the postseason.

Our guy Collin Helwig noted the workload Mikal Bridges has taken on, and he’ll have even more on his plate for this road trip. He’ll need to continue finding his way to the basket so he can put downhill pressure on opponents. When your jumper isn’t falling, you can make up for it by maintaining aggressiveness and getting to the rim.

I feel like Nets fans can answer this for Monty Williams

Always remember: live ball turnovers = BIG TROUBLE!

When you give your star room to operate, good things happen. It’s been a rough year in the D, but Cade Cunningham has kept progressing. Over his last 11 games, the former number one pick is averaging around 22/7/5 on 47/42/88 shooting splits. Throughout the Pistons’ struggles, he’s kept a brave face and kept working to get better.

Dennis Schroder has been solid as the Nets point guard, and he’ll look to put on another solid show tonight. DS can get downhill, is someone who can make a play in the clutch, and is a general menace to opponents. You need guys like that and with each game taking on the highest importance, a guy like this will do wonders for the team.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last night with Donovan Mitchell. They’re now three up on the Brooklyn Nets.

Player to watch: Jalen Duren

Even when things appear darkest, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. In addition to Cunningham, Pistons fans can look forward to the continued growth of Jalen Duren. The second year big is still only 20 years old, but you see where his game is going. He had a relatively rough February, but the more he plays and the more he gets acclimated to increased responsibility, the better he’ll be for it in the long term.

With Day’Ron Sharpe likely out, Nic Claxton will have to do more. Clax has steadied what had been a struggling Nets defense and gotten them back to something approaching respectability. Kevin Ollie has given him a bit more room to operate and create offensively, and it’s been paying dividends. The great thing about young players is when you boost their confidence and give them room to grow on the job, great things happen.

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More reading: Detroit Bad Boys, SB Nation NBA, Nets Republic, Piston Powered