The Detroit Pistons were on the up and up after their release of Josh Smith, winning 12 out of their first 15 games with him gone from the team. After a 5-23 start to this season, it was just what the Pistons needed.

Night after night for the last few weeks, Coach Stan Van Gundy and Pistons fans have been able to count on top players to the likes of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, and Brandon Jennings to come through and propel their team to a win.

That may be changing in Detroit real soon, though, after an injury that could see the Pistons lose out on a possible playoff spot - after earning their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The good times seemed to end last Wednesday, though, on a historic night for basketball. Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and helped the team out even more with 21 assists, propelling Detroit to a 10-point win over the Orlando Magic. It was the first time a player had 20 points and 20 assists since Steve Nash in 2009, and the first time for the Pistons since Isiah Thomas - way back in 1985. The Pistons looked ahead to extending their impressive period of playing good basketball, and they were to pick back up on the next game a couple nights later against the Milwaukee Bucks.

During the game in Milwaukee, Brandon Knight (who was sent to the Bucks in the trade that brought Jennings to Detroit) pushed a bit off of Brandon Jennings, and Jennings collapsed to the floor, staying down, clearly hurting, for some time as play continued. The news was heartbreaking for the team and for fans, as Jennings had ruptured his Achilles, holding him to the sidelines for the rest of the season (6-9 months). It will be difficult to keep up the impressive pace the team has had as of late without Jennings on the floor, as he has averaged 15.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 1.1 steals in 28.6 minutes per game this season. He will be replaced by D.J. Augustin, who played an impressive game of his own in his first as Jennings' replacement in Toronto against the Raptors (110-114, Raptors won).

Questions still circle the team and their near future though - one of them being does Augustin have more where his performance came from Sunday night in Toronto?

Things are a bit different for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though.

The NBA announced Monday that forward LeBron James was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, for games played during January 19-25, as reported by NBA.com. This is the third time this season that James has earned the award, and an NBA record 48th time in his career. As a Cavalier, he has now earned the award 29 times. He led Cleveland to a perfect 4-0 week, as he averaged 27.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. He also ranked first in points between all Eastern Conference players (111 pts). Overall, it was an astounding week for LeBron James, as he recorded some impressive numbers across all of the game all week long.

Coming off the impressive week, you can’t help but think that Cleveland’s star player will show up ready to play when his team visits the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons, on Tuesday evening.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a strong week as a whole, with their aforementioned 4-0 record. They’ve won six straight basketball games, and star players LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love have helped the team on their way to their current record, a winning record of 25-20.

The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers are set to face off Tuesday evening at the Palace, with James on the court and Jennings sitting down somewhere.

After the recent success of the Cavs' (notably, winning their last six matchups), and the recent bad news for the Pistons, there’s a strong chance we already know who will come out on top of this one.

If Detroit is able to keep the game close, maybe heading into the second half trailing by only around 10 or so, they will have played an impressive basketball game against one of the NBA’s strongest teams. They may even be able to take it into the end of the third and (at the least) beginning of the fourth, keeping it close and playing intensely toward an upset. That is a possibility; the Pistons are a good team.

With the season-long loss of Jennings, though, it is just as probable that we see the Detroit Pistons fall back to what frustrated their fans through the opening 30 or so games of the 2014-15 season. Sloppy basketball was what the Pistons played through that opening segment of the new season and of course, the Cavaliers have not faced such issues this year - to that extent, especially.

Things to watch for on both sides of the court in this Cleveland-Detroit matchup Tuesday night:

-LeBron James to continue playing All-Star-worthy basketball (he has been named a 2015 All-Star starter, speaking of).

-Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Kyle Singler, and others from Detroit playing hard to keep it close.

-The Pistons to be blown out at home.

-The Pistons to play incredible basketball at home, keeping the score close nearing the end of the fourth.

It is an unsure, question-filled time for Pistons fans and for their team. This game Tuesday night could prove to be a precursor of what’s to come from the Detroit team; either a best-of-the-best Cavaliers squad makes the Pistons look like a weak team, or the Pistons play some impressive and fast-paced basketball, keeping the score close as the game nears its end.

There will be a LIVE here on VAVEL with coverage through all four quarters of the Cleveland at Detroit matchup Tuesday night, be sure to look for that.

The game begins at 7:30 pm EST at the Palace of Auburn Hills.