Nets vs. Pistons NBA injury report, odds, spread: Kevin Durant out, Kyrie Irving to play; Wayne Ellington, Delon Wright questionable Tuesday

The first game on the seven-game NBA schedule on Tuesday is the Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons with a 7 p.m. ET tipoff and what looks like a bit of a mismatch. The Nets are 8.5-point favorites on the NBA odds at William Hill Sportsbook despite the fact Kevin Durant remains out in COVID protocols. Point guard Kyrie Irving, however, should play after missing the previous game with an injury. The Pistons could be pretty short-handed in the backcourt after finalizing a trade of Derrick Rose on Monday and with fellow guards Wayne Ellington and Delon Wright listed as questionable.

Durant reportedly will be eligible to rejoin the team Friday, so his first game back would be the ABC national TV game Saturday at Golden State. Durant is second in the league in scoring at 29.5 ppg. Irving (27.5 ppg) sat for Saturday's 124-108 loss in Philadelphia with a finger injury suffered in Friday's home loss to Toronto, the game in which Durant was pulled from for contact tracing.

Brooklyn has lost two straight games now five times this season but yet to lose three in a row. The Nets continue to lead the league in scoring at 121.5 ppg and have scored at least 120 points 15 times this season after doing so 14 times in 72 games last season. That's what having a healthy Durant and Irving and the addition of James Harden will do for you.

Detroit sent Rose to the Knicks for point guard Dennis Smith Jr. – who wasn't playing at all for New York and won't yet debut due to COVID protocols – and a second-round pick. The Pistons aren't going anywhere this season or for a while so may as well dump Rose ahead of him becoming a free agent and see if Smith, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 draft, is salvageable.

Ellington is listed as questionable with a right calf injury that has kept him out the past two and Wright is questionable with a left ankle sprain. He played 46 minutes in Saturday's 135-129 double OT loss to the Lakers, Detroit's fourth straight defeat. With Rose gone, Ellington is fourth on the team in scoring at 11.9 ppg and Wright sixth at 9.3 ppg while leading the team in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.4 spg).

It's the first meeting of the season between the Pistons and Nets; Brooklyn is 3-7 in its past 10 at Detroit. The Nets are 1-5 against the spread in their past six road games this season. 

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