
The Pistons have won eight of their past nine and are one of the hottest teams in the league.
The surging Detroit Pistons (18-18) go for their fifth consecutive win and eighth in their past nine when they travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets (13-23) in the first night of a back-to-back for Detroit.
Here are five things to know before Wednesday’s matchup:
- Cade Cunningham setting the tone: Cunningham has taken his game to new heights in his fourth season, averaging career-best marks in nearly every statistical category. In 32 games this year, Detroit is 17-15, going 1-3 in the four games without their rising star. His 24.4 points per game rank 20th in the NBA, and the 9.5 assists he dishes each night are the third-highest number across the league. Cade notched a career-high 18 assists on Dec. 16 when he recorded his sixth triple-double of the season, also the third most in the NBA.
- Jalen Duren’s improved efficiency: Duren is averaging 9.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game in 2024-25, playing nearly five less minutes a night compared to 2023-24. The counting stats might not blow you away, but the third-year center has been much more efficient this year for the Pistons. He ranks fourth in field goal percentage (68.8) and fifth in true shooting percentage (68.7), and also grabs offensive rebounds at the fifth-highest rate throughout the league (13.4).
- Pistons’ record at .500: The Detroit Pistons reached .500 for the first time in January since the 2018-19 season when they finished 41-41. Detroit is 8-2 over their last ten games with an 8th-ranked offensive rating of 114.7 during that stretch, earning them a positive 2.5 point differential.
- Malik Beasley thriving: Beasley bet on himself last summer after a tricky 2024 season in Milwaukee. In his first season with Detroit, he has bounced back in a big way, scoring 16 points per game while drilling nearly 40% of his three-point attempts in 28.2 minutes. His scoring average is the highest it’s been since the 2020-21 season when he averaged 19.6 a night and he’s currently 2nd in the league in 3-point field goals made this season.
- Brooklyn searching for their identity: With the Nets being active in trades this season, first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez has been challenged with having to put all the moving parts in the right places. Brooklyn is 3-7 in their last 10 games, but their defense has started to show some signs of improvement. The Nets’ defensive rating during this stretch sits at 112.3, good for 15th across the association, compared to their 25th-ranked 116.2 rating throughout the entire season.