{"id":575380,"date":"2026-02-01T16:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T16:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/575380\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T16:19:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T16:19:17","slug":"nets-vs-pistons-preview-welcome-to-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/575380\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets vs. Pistons preview: Welcome to February"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DENVER,<\/a><\/p>\n

DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 27: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons celebrates after defeating the Denver Nuggets 109-107 at Ball Arena on January 27, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Left with a W. The Brooklyn Nets took on the Utah Jazz Friday night as part of the second half of a back-to-back. The Nets were shorthanded but got plenty of terrific contributions across the board and came away with a 109-99 victory<\/a>. The W snapped the team\u2019s seven game losing streak.<\/p>\n

It was a particularly good night for Egor Demin who returned to Salt Lake City where he played last season for BYU. He set a couple of records, including the longest streak of games with at least one 3-pointer with 34. His 25 points and 10 boards marked the first double-double of his career.<\/p>\n

The opponent tonight might be the biggest surprise in the NBA. The Detroit Pistons stand on top of the Eastern Conference and are having their best season in decades. They helped the cause with a 131-124 win <\/a>over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. They return home to begin a four game homestand.<\/p>\n

YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Tip after 6:00 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Noah Clowney, Ziaire Williams, and Haywood Highsmith are out. Ben Saraf is still with the big club.<\/p>\n

Caris Levert is questionable while Cade Cunningham is probable.<\/p>\n

Detroit won the first <\/a>matchup.<\/p>\n

We are on the fast track to the NBA trade deadline! The big day is on Thursday February 5, and the Conference leading Pistons might be in the market for some reinforcements. Could they be turning to Brooklyn for some help? Michael Porter Jr has been floated as an option, but nothing appears imminent on that front as of yet. However, Sean Corp of Detroit Bad Boys<\/a> wrote about how Porter could help this rising Detroit basketball club:<\/p>\n

If the Pistons go big-game hunting, it\u2019s no surprise that Porter Jr. would be at the top of their list. Porter is the most coveted large wing shooter on the trade market, and that checks every box on Detroit\u2019s wish list. He is shooting 39% from three on nearly 10 attempts a game, is a legit 6-foot-10, and has acquitted himself well in the playoffs. He is under team control for one more season beyond this one at $40 million.<\/p>\n

For now, MPJ will be back in the lineup after sitting out on Friday. He\u2019s hit for 30+ points in two out of the last three games and hit the Pistons for 28 points in the first matchup. Porter Jr is one of the more intriguing trade prospects this season, and if the Nets don\u2019t find a suitable package for him, at least they know that they can count on him being a solid contributor next season and beyond.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, he\u2019ll be waiting on Sunday\u2019s announcement of the East\u2019s All-Star reserves.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s going to be at a big disadvantage on the glass tonight. The Pistons are third in the NBA at rebound rate while the Nets are 24th. Jalen Duren is one of the league leaders in rebounds and one of the most physical players in the league. The Nets are going to need big outings from Day\u2019ron Sharpe and Nic Claxton on the inside if they want to get this win. Limiting second chance points will help the Nets get out on the run while also reducing a Pistons strength.<\/p>\n

However, if the Nets want to win, they\u2019re going to have to reverse one season long trend. The Nets are 28th in turnover rate, which is bad enough. Making matters worse is the Pistons lead the NBA in opponent turnover rate, are second in points off of turnovers, and fourth in fastbreak points. If the Nets aren\u2019t careful, they\u2019re going to get run out of the building quickly. Not good.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Sean Marks and two other Nets staffers were in Lawrence, Kansas, yesterday to watch the faceoff between Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and BYU\u2019s A.J. Dybantsa, generally conceded to be, along with Duke\u2019s Cam Boozer, the prize catches of the 2026 NBA Draft. He and everyone else in NetsWorld have to hope the basketball gods bless the Nets with one of them.<\/p>\n

In the end, Peterson outshone Dybantsa but at the same time Jayhawks coach Bill Self held Peterson out the final 16 minutes of the game with leg cramps highlighting his history of nagging injuries.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s three representatives were the most dispatched to Lawence by 17 NBA teams.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc40 Player to watch: Cade Cunningham<\/p>\n

All Star starter, signature Nike <\/a>athlete, and all around excellent player. This season has been magical for Cade Cunningham and he has plenty of room for even more success coming up. The former number one pick is getting to the free throw line at the highest rate of his career and is also having his best season finishing at the rim as well. He\u2019s fourth in the NBA in drives per game, so look for him to probe and attack early and often. Cade is a midrange maestro and great decision maker. He\u2019s everything you want in a franchise player and this season has to feel incredibly rewarding after all the struggles his teams had to begin his career.<\/p>\n

The fun part about watching a rookie have a career best game is wondering how they can follow it up the next time out. Egor D\u0451min had career highs in points (25) and rebounds (ten) on Friday night and he\u2019s making a great case to be on one of the All-Rookie teams at the end of the season. Some of his drives really stood out and if he\u2019s able to get to the rim more consistently, it will open his game up. Last nights of a road trip are always tough, but a strong performance would help the Nets properly transition into the month of February.<\/p>\n

Ones in the air for Catherine O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 27: Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons celebrates after defeating the Denver Nuggets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575381,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,6,671,19734],"class_list":["post-575380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn-nets","tag-basketball","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-brooklynnets","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-nets-game-previews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115996287253075472","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}