SEASON SERIES The Nets won their first meeting with the Pistons this year, coming from behind in the fourth quarter for an 87-83 win as Thaddeus Young put up 19 points with 10 rebounds. ON THE ROAD
On the heels of their ninth straight home loss, the Nets head out on the road in search of a win and some offense. The Nets have won three of their last four road games, against the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, though that was before Jarrett Jack tore his right ACL (in Boston) and was ruled out for the rest of the season. MONSTER MATCHUP The Nets got a taste of one of the league’s rising stars when Detroit’s Andre Drummond put up 20 points with 18 rebounds in that November Nets win. At 20 years old two years ago, Drummond averaged 13.2 rebounds and shot 62 percent in the field in his second NBA season. Now the 6-11 center is grabbing a staggering 15.7 rebounds per game, including an early-season career high of 29 boards. If Drummond maintains that pace, he’ll post the highest single season rebounding average since Dennis Rodman grabbed 16.1 per game in 1996-97. Rodman posted six seasons averaging more than 15.0 rebounds per game, but he never displayed Drummond’s scoring touch. The 22-year-old is averaging 17.9 points per game, making him the NBA’s second highest scoring center, behind only the Nets’ Brook Lopez (19.9 ppg). With Lopez averaging 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, this is a matchup of two of the league’s premier big men.
STREAKY PISTONS
The Pistons are 20-16, riding some ups and downs to get there. They’re in fourth place in what is surprisingly looking like the NBA’s deepest division, trailing Cleveland, Chicago and resurgent Indiana in the Central. After dropping three straight, they’ve won three of their last four. Guard Reggie Jackson tops the scoring chart with 19.8 points per game and also averages 6.4 assists.
