Pistons face tough test against Wizards
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (2-5) at Washington Wizards (5-2)
- Date: November 12
- Time: 7:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
The Washington Wizards are going to give the Detroit Pistons fits tonight. That’s really the best way to capture what Washington has become this season despite the absence of starting 2-guard Bradley Beal due to a wrist fracture.
Although the Wizards are a barely average offensive team, there are certainly a lot of things to like about them from a scoring perspective. Washington makes a genuine effort to produce high-quality looks by emphasizing low-post touches for Nene, who is averaging 12 points on 47 percent shooting.
The Wizards have another wrinkle they utilize with Nene, and it involves running curl screens with Paul Pierce rubbing off Nene. It’s a great way to get Pierce an open mid-range look, but in the event that Nene’s defender collapses on Pierce, Nene gets an open jumper or free path to the basket.
Granted, with Pierce making a frigid 33.3 percent of his shots, opponents are inviting him to shoot the ball more than anything. Considering that he’s been a stud scorer throughout his career, it feels like with enough looks, Pierce could bust out at any point in time. Then again, at what point do we ask ourselves if that 37-year-old body can handle the grind of the 82-game schedule even at 28 minutes per game?
To put this into perspective, last year, Pierce made 40.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot field goals and 58.3 percent of his attempts inside 10 feet, per SportVU data tracking
This season, he’s making 34.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities and 38.9 percent of his looks inside 10 feet. Simply put, Pierce might no longer have “it”, and luckily for the Wizards, he seems to recognize that.
The former Boston Celtic does a good job of keeping the ball moving for the most part, which results in John Wall having the ball in his hands a whole lot. That’s a good thing for this Wizards team, because no one is playing point guard better right now save for Stephen Curry and perhaps Tony Parker.
So far this season, Wall is demonstrating that he has figured out the delicate balance between getting others involved and calling his own number when the situation requires it. This maturation explains why Nene seems to get the shots he wants in his preferred spots, and also gives some insight on Marcin Gortat’s 14 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting.
The Pistons will have to contend with the interior duo tonight, which will only be made by tougher by Wall’s scoring and playmaking.
The talented and athletic point guard has already registered two games this season with at least 30 points and 10 assists, while the rest of the league as a whole only has one, per Basketball-Reference.com (the list includes LeBron James’ performance against the New Orleans Pelicans, but the league has since reviewed the game and stripped him of an assist which means he finished the game with 32 points and nine assists).
The Pistons will have to figure out a way to limit Washington’s scoring, because that’s probably what the Wizards will do to them. Head coach Randy Wittman has a top-four defense this year because the players do a great job of paying attention to details. They’re all on the same page and try to stay at least a pass head of every play.
If Washington ends up with two players defending one away from the ball, it’s by design. They’re passing a player on to the next guy and then quickly recovering back to the primary assignment. The defensive energy allows them to take away easy passes to cutters inside the paint or blow up pick-and-rolls.
Washington is the fourth-best team at preventing scores inside the paint, and that could be problematic for Detroit.
The Pistons haven’t fared well in this specific area, but their 12.9 offensive rebounds per game gives them at least some scoring punch on the interior. Washington doesn’t do a great job of protecting the glass, which gives Detroit a chance for scores at the basket. However, don’t expect the Pistons to drive the ball all the way to the hoop or to get post-ups that produce quality looks against Nene and Gortat.
These Wizards are a frisky bunch, and the Pistons will be in a dog fight tonight. I’m curious to see if Detroit can hang with a team that should have home court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs (yeah, I went there). That should provide an adequate barometer of just where it is that Detroit stands in the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
Are they middle of the pack or bottom of the barrel?
Tune in tonight to find out…
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