Pistons at Nets
THE STORY: The Detroit Pistons rank last in the NBA in scoring offense and rebounding but managed to do just enough on defense to win back-to-back home games over the weekend. Rookie guard Brandon Knight broke his nose in Saturday’s 89-87 win over the New Orleans Hornets and will be playing with a mask if he takes the court on Wednesday, when the Pistons visit the New Jersey Nets. It was only a week ago that the Nets squeezed out a 99-96 win over Detroit in Newark. Since then, New Jersey has dropped three in a row while surrendering an average of 105 points. The Nets have given up at least 90 points in nine straight and count the Pistons as their lone win in the last six games. The Eastern Conference bottom-dwellers will meet again Friday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSD (Detroit), YES (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (6-20): Detroit has a big chunk of its payroll on the bench in Charlie Villanueva (ankle), Ben Gordon (shoulder) and Will Bynum (foot), who have missed a combined 28 straight games. The absence of those veterans has allowed coach Lawrence Frank to give valuable minutes to players like Knight, Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko, who have each shown flashes of becoming productive players. Greg Monroe has looked like a future building block in averaging 21 points and 13.5 rebounds in the last two wins.
ABOUT THE NETS (8-18): With each loss, the rumors grow louder that New Jersey will try to move Deron Williams if it can’t pry Dwight Howard away from the Orlando Magic. Williams is the lone draw for the Nets at the moment, putting up 25.4 points and 9.1 assists over the last eight games. The biggest difference lately has been the absence of rookie MarShon Brooks, who has missed five straight games with a broken toe. Brooks has already been ruled out for the rest of this week.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Monroe has seven double-doubles in the last eight games, missing with 21 points and eight boards against New Jersey last week.
2. The Pistons are 1-12 on the road.
3. The home team has taken the last seven in the series.