Pistons launch tough road trip with test vs. Nuggets

The slog of an 82-game schedule becomes tough in January, when winter has settled in and injuries add up.

The Detroit Pistons are feeling it as they embark on a three-game road trip Tuesday night at the Denver Nuggets.

All-Star Cade Cunningham is dealing with a wrist injury that sidelined him for three games and limited him for most of the month but he had a breakout game in a win over Sacramento on Sunday.

“It’s been hard. It’s been a battle as far as mentally, as far as figuring out how I can help us while not liking how I felt shooting, and just constantly flinching when I was shooting because I didn’t know how it would feel. It was hurting sometimes, sometimes I’d be able to release and the ball would come out fine,” Cunningham said after a 29-point, 11-assist performance against the Kings.

Cunningham is the best player on a deep team that leads the Eastern Conference. He averages team highs of 25.4 points and 9.7 assists. Jalen Duren averages a team-high 10.6 rebounds and is second in scoring at 17.8 points per game, while Tobias Harris ranks third on Detroit with 13.3 points.

Detroit got off to a 15-2 start to take control of the conference race and has held that spot for most of the season. This road trip will be a test for the Pistons, who face three tough teams — Denver, Phoenix and Golden State.

The Nuggets have dealt with significant injuries all season, yet they are third in the Western Conference. They had to deal with another snag this weekend when the winter storm that hit much of the country disrupted their travel.

Denver won road games in Washington and Milwaukee on consecutive nights and then flew to Memphis right after the win over the Bucks on Friday night. The league postponed Sunday’s game and the Nuggets couldn’t fly home until Monday morning.

The extra days of rest were welcomed after Aaron Gordon worsened his right hamstring injury on Friday night. Gordon, who averages 17.7 points per game, previously missed 19 games earlier in the season with the same issue and has been sidelined for injury management.

“I feel for him,” coach David Adelman said. “He’s optimistic it’s not as bad as it was, the last one. But we won’t know until we get it actually tested.”

Jamal Murray is also dealing with a tight hamstring that sidelined him Friday night.

The biggest question is when Nikola Jokic will return from his hyperextended left knee. Jokic, who leads Denver in scoring (29.6 points per game), rebounding (12.2) and assists (11.0), has not played since Dec. 29 and is within the four-to-six-week window for his return.

He was on the recent trip and warmed up on the court pregame, sporting a sleeve over his left knee.

Murray, averaging a career-best 26.0 points, and Peyton Watson, whose 14.5 ppg are also a career high, have been instrumental in Denver staying near the top of the competitive Western Conference.