The Brooklyn Nets begin their five-game road trip Thursday when they take on the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

The Nets (25-37) have had a disappointing season that culminated in a 136-86 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 14, which triggered the dismissal of head coach Jacque Vaughn. The Nets are 4-4 since appointing Kevin Ollie as the interim head coach, with three of those wins coming in their last four games. Brooklyn took down the Philadelphia 76ers, 112-107, on March 5 thanks to 20 points each from Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith, as well as 19 points from Lonnie Walker off the bench. If the Nets can get that kind of production down the stretch from their role players to complement the play of rising star Mikal Bridges, the team could sneak its way into the 10th seed and a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament.

Day’Ron Sharpe (wrist) is questionable for Thursday’s game. Cameron Johnson will be sidelined after spraining his right ankle against the 76ers. Ben Simmons (back) and Cam Thomas (ankle) will each miss their six-straight game.

The Pistons (9-52), on the other hand, are already looking to next season. A silver lining, however, is that they no longer have the worst record in the NBA, with the Washington Wizards holding that distinction in the midst of a 16-game losing streak. Despite the woes of the regular season, Detroit have reasons to feel optimistic for its future. 2021 first-overall pick Cade Cunningham has taken the leap in his third year in the league, and he is averaging career highs across the board including points per game (22.2), assists per game (7.4) and three-point shooting (36.0 percent). Jalen Duren, the 13th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, has registered 33 double-doubles this season and could be the big man of the future for the Pistons.

Quentin Grimes will miss his third straight game due to right knee soreness.

Thursday's contest is the third of four games between the Nets and Pistons this season, with Brooklyn holding a 2-0 edge.