Detroit @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2018 ) Memphis 102, Detroit 104

The Detroit Pistons were eliminated from postseason competition early this week, but that doesn't mean the team is giving up. The Pistons will try to secure their ninth win in 11 games and continue to carry momentum into the offseason when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Detroit still has a shot at a .500 finish if it can win its final three games and squeezed out a 113-106 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday to keep hope alive. While most teams out of the race are shuffling rotations and handing more minutes to younger players, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy let All-Star center Andre Drummond go for 42 minutes in Friday's win and had four starters log at least 35 minutes. The Grizzlies are not riding their veterans nearly as hard at the end of a lost season and turned the team completely over to players who were expected to do no more than provide some bench support at the beginning of the season. Shooting guard MarShon Brooks wasn't in the team's plans at all last summer but could be carving out a spot in the team's future.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Detroit, FS Southeast (Memphis)

ABOUT THE PISTONS (38-41): Detroit began to slip out of the race in the East when point guard Reggie Jackson went down with an ankle injury and missed nearly three months, but he is playing well since his return. Jackson scored a team-high 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and added seven assists on Friday. "I'm just happy to be playing, happy to feel good, to go out there and be getting back to who I feel I am and try to get some explosion back," Jackson told reporters. "My teammates, they've been keeping me positive. Now I'm just happy to be out here helping the guys find ways to get wins."

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (21-58): Brooks spent the last three seasons playing in China and wasn't signed by Memphis until the end of last month but is wasting little time proving he can still score at the NBA level. The 29-year-old, who was a first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics in 2011, scored more than 20 points in each of his first four games with the Grizzlies and is averaging 23.3 on 56.5 percent shooting after going for 23 in Friday's 94-93 home loss to Sacramento. "I'm very confident," Brooks told reporters. "I've always been a confident guy. I feel like I can always create my own shot or at least get a guy on my hip and create an advantage for myself and my teammates. The last couple games definitely helped. I'm definitely at a high."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Grizzlies rookie PF Ivan Rabb recorded season highs in assists (four) and blocks (three) on Friday.

2. Drummond is enjoying a string of nine straight double-doubles.

3. Detroit edged Memphis 104-102 at home on Feb. 1 behind 24 points from PF Blake Griffin, who is questionable for Sunday due to an ankle injury.

PREDICTION: Pistons 101, Grizzlies 92