Player grades: Kevin Durant erupts for 43 points as the Nets beat the Pistons 124-121

Kevin Durant showed off what he could do despite being down as many as 19 points

The Brooklyn Nets came to Little Caesars Arena, but it was to take on the Detroit Pistons, not get some pizza. The Nets did more than get some cheese slices as they came away with a 124-121 win that shouldn’t have been that close.

For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 43 points and six rebounds while Kyrie Irving had 38 points and three assists. Royce O’Neale had 11 points as the only other Net who had double-figures in scoring.

For the Pistons, Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 points and four assists while Jaden Ivey had 19 points and four rebounds. Killian Hayes had 10 points and eight assists.

This game started in an unexpected way. Not only was it expected for the Nets to run away with this game, but the Pistons ambushed the Nets in the first quarter like Brooklyn was supposed to do to them. It was clear that the Nets came into this game underestimating Detroit missing Cade Cunningham.

The Pistons shot the ball well in the beginning, but that shooting came back down to earth once the Nets woke up in the second half. Detroit played their defensive coverages by shutting down the role players thereby hoping that Durant and Irving had off nights.

Well, that didn’t happen and if anything, the role players of the Nets were more confident in their games after seeing Durant and Irving go off.

Here are your Nets player grades:

Brooklyn Nets have mutual interest in free agent Markieff Morris

Reports indicate the Brooklyn Nets have mutual interest in veteran forward Markieff Morris, considering bringing him onto the roster.

While this offseason was very stressful for the Brooklyn Nets over the last three months, it seems that the organization has mutual interest in a consistent roleplayer in Markieff Morris.

According to Chris Milholen of NetsDaily, Brooklyn and Morris have a mutual interest in one another.

Per Milholen:

League sources tell NetsDaily that the Nets and Markieff Morris have mutual interest.

Morris, a 32-year-old 6’8” power forward, is an unrestricted free agent and the Nets currently have two openings on their 15-man roster. Overall, the Nets have six openings on their 20-man training camp roster. With the Kevin Durant trade request rescinded and the Nets not need to keep roster spots open, Brooklyn is expected to move soon on signings. A Morris signing would presumably be for the vets minimum.

Morris is a valued veteran roleplayer who understands his role on a roster, and that can be dangerous. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 boards per contest with limited minutes due to injury. He is a 12-year veteran in the league with a reputation to bring toughness and grit to the floor, coming off the bench.

With superstar Kevin Durant taking back his trade reiteration, the Nets are looking to fill their final roster spots before the training camp gets underway. Brooklyn did pick up a quality shooter in T.J. Warren this offseason and adding Morris will create more depth for the forwards.

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