On Friday evening, the Brooklyn Nets will face off against the Detroit Pistons, hoping to extend their newfound win-streak to two.
Brooklyn was the last team in the association without a win, but was finally able to nab one against the undermanned Pacers Wednesday, winning 112-103 behind Michael Porter Jr.’s 32 points and 11 rebounds.
While the win was certainly a step in the right direction, head coach Jordi Fernandez certainly won’t want to stop there.
Friday night’s bout against Detroit is sure to be a test, as the Pistons currently stand at No. 2 in the Eastern Conference with a 6-2 record. Led by star guard Cade Cunningham, they play a tough brand of basketball featured around two-way play.
Here are the injury reports for both teams ahead of tonight’s game:
Haywood Highsmith — Out: Right knee
Terance Mann — Available: Left shoulder
Drake Powell — Available: Right ankle
Ben Saraf — Out: G League
Cam Thomas — Out: Left hamstring
Nolan Traore — Out: G League
Danny Wolf — Out: G League
Tobias Harris — Out: Right ankle
Jaden Ivey — Out: Right knee
Colby Jones — Out: G League
Caris LeVert — Questionable: Left knee
Marcus Sasser — Out: Right hip
Tolu Smith — Out: G League
The Nets continued to be fairly undermanned this year, seeing a myriad of potential contributors on their injury report.
The team’s second-leading scorer in Cam Thomas — who’s averaging 21.4 points per game on 40% shooting — will sit out tonight’s game with a hamstring injury. He’s an obviously key piece to the team’s lineup, offering one of a few backcourt players with offensive fire-power.
Porter currently leads the Nets in scoring at 22.4 points per game on a much better 46% shooting, though Thomas’ gravity on the perimeter certainly feeds into that.
In addition to Thomas is offseason pickup Haywood Highsmith, who has yet to make his return from injury after being traded from Miami.
Three of Brooklyn’s five rookies are listed as out on the injury report due to G League assignment: Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf.
Terance Mann and Drake Powell are both listed as available to play tonight.
The Pistons are dealing with several injuries of their own, including to players like Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser, all of which would be likely to see playing time.
The Nets and Pistons tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT.
