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Detroit Pistons (4-8) @ Brooklyn Nets (3-8)

Barclays Center 2:00

TV: YES – RADIO: CBS 880[/box]

[quote_simple]NETS STARTERS

The starting lineup will once again be shaken up with Shaun Livingston playing alongside Joe Johnson in the backcourt with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the man in the middle Reggie Evans up front.

The injuries just keep coming and no one knows who is playing from day-to-day and it taking a toll of this team.  No one knows when Lopez or Williams will return and the mood around the team is horrible.

Today once again two Nets starters, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, will not play and two keys reserves also will not play in Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko so the bench will again be tested against the young Pistons.

PISTONS STARTERS

The Pistons starting lineup will be Brandon Jennings and Kantavious Caldwell-Pope in the backcourt with Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond playing in the frontcourt.

Josh Smith did not start the last game when he missed a scheduled practice after a back-to-back situation and Detroit is coming off a home-and-home sweep to the Atlanta Hawks.

Jennings dished out 14 assists but only scored eight points on 4-of-16 shooting for Detroit while  Josh Smith, who came off the bench missed all seven of his shot attempts and went scoreless in 20 minutes.

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[quote_simple][box]Game Notes:

Last season, the Nets swept the Pistons (4-0) for the second time in series history (also occurred in 1978-79).

The Nets won three of the four meetings last season by a combined nine points and everyone remembers the Joe Johnson dagger game.

Jennings is averaging 30.0 points on 52.9 percent from the floor in his last six meetings with Brooklyn.

[box]WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Find some kind of passion

The Nets look lost on the floor during this 3-9 start and it doesn’t seem to be any better game by game.

The Pistons frontcourt hammered the Nets in the preseason and they will look to do the same in Brooklyn today so if the Nets don’t find that passion they will once again get run off the court by a younger and hungrier Pistons team.

This team needs a win badly and today would be a good time to get one with a dysfunctional Pistons team coming in having dropped seven of their last nine games.

Rebounding, which is all effort, will be the key to see who wins this game.

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[box]INJURY REPORT

NETS

Andrei Kirilenko – OUT (back spasms)

Deron Williams – OUT (sprained left ankle)

Brook Lopez – OUT (sprained left ankle)

Jason Terry – OUT (briused left knee)

PISTONS

Chauncey Billups   – OUT (left knee tendinitis)

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