The Pistons have won seven of the past eight games between the two sides and are unbeaten this season. They beat the Christchurch Cougars by 30 points last week, while the Nuggets are coming off a 32-point drubbing by the Nelson Giants.
It shapes as a mismatch and Otago coach Alf Arlidge is well aware of how the two sides stack up.
The Pistons boast a starting five which includes the league's leading player, Eric Devendorf, Tall Black forwards Alex Pledger and Thomas Abercrombie, veteran forward Tony Ronaldson and experienced guard Hayden Allen.
The Nuggets have been forced to lean heavily on American imports Antoine Tisby and Tyler Amaya, with the rest of the playing roster largely inexperienced and struggling to match up both on defence and offence.
The Nuggets have the worst shooting percentages in the league and, unless they can find their range, tonight's match could be a massive blowout.
And, with a potentially winnable game against the Taranaki Mountain Airs in New Plymouth tomorrow night, the Nuggets will not want to expend too much energy on a losing battle.
"Definitely the game against the 'Naki is the one we have to target the most," Arlidge acknowledged.
"Taranaki have got Jeremiah Trueman, who is very strong on the boards and is aggressive and likes to attack the hole."
Arlidge said American forward Demarshay Johnson could finish with both hands and import guard Jack Leasure was a handy scorer.
"[Leasure] is one we can target. He's not very quick and he's a set shooter. Hopefully, we can put pressure on them in the back court.
"But all we can do is build on what we did last week. Our defence was better ... but we are struggling to put the ball in the hole.
"The guys are getting good shots but we're just not making them. We've just got to hope that we turn the corner and start hitting those shots. If we start getting them in it makes it easier on Antoine and Tyler."
The American duo have accounted for 67% of the Nuggets' points with 143 of the 213 points scored. Tisby has been the most productive with 79. Amaya has scored 64 points but has not been as deadly as the Nuggets need from an outside shooter.
With the Nuggets' outside shooting game in disarray, opposition teams have been able to double and even triple-team Tisby to stop him getting inside the key for easy points.
He is the linchpin and, if teams close him down, the Nuggets struggle. However, the 2008 league rebounding champion is not that easy to shut down and tops most of the Nuggets' statistics, averaging 26.3 points and 12.7 rebounds a game.
• NUGGETS v PISTONS
Te Awamutu, tonight
Nuggets: Antoine Tisby, Tyler Amaya, Matt Gillan, Steve Robinson, Sam To'omata, James Ross, Riki Buckrell, Tom Rowe, Matt Trueman, Luke Aston.
Pistons: Eric Devendorf, Tony Ronaldson, Ray Cameron, Alex Pledger, Gerard Bowden, Hayden Allen, Mike Homik, Puke Lenden, Thomas Abercrombie, Kurtis Elliot.
