Detroit Pistons: The good, the bad and the ugly against the Brooklyn Nets
By Duncan Smith
The Detroit Pistons followed up a sloppy but high scoring preseason-opening defeat to the Indiana Pacers with a sloppy and low scoring loss to the Brooklyn Nets. The Pistons were able to hold the Nets to a more respectable 93 points than the stunning 115 points that they gave up to the Pacers, but Brooklyn’s roster is a mess and the Nets are expected to be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference this year. We’ll break down some of the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
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The good
Reggie Jackson made his return from a leg injury that had kept him sidelined against the Pacers, and played 29 minutes. He scored seven points on 3-10 shooting, and added six assists and three rebounds.
The Pistons forced 20 turnovers from the Nets, with 11 of those turnovers being steals.
After a pretty terrible preseason debut for the Pistons against the Pacers, guard Spencer Dinwiddie posted an improved stat line. He scored seven points and shot 3-4 from the floor, and had four assists and two steals in 18 minutes. He also posted a team-high +2 net rating.
The bad
The Pistons’ hot shooting in the opener against the Pacers took a dive in this one. The Pistons shot 41% from the field, and just 32% from the three-point line. On the defensive side of the ball, the Pistons held the Nets to a reasonable 44% shooting from the field, but the perimeter defense was as bad as it often was last season. The Nets shot 48% on 10-21 shooting from behind the three-point line, which is obviously far too high.
The Pistons also turned the ball over 22 times, which was even more than the somewhat concerning 20 turnovers they committed against the Pacers. Reggie Jackson led the parade with six turnovers. Speaking of Jackson, he also had a team-worst -12 net rating. He was followed closely by Stanley Johnson with -11, in the follow-up to his outstanding game against the Pacers.
The ugly
Shane Larkin (Barry Larkin’s kid) and Wayne Ellington (and his career 7 points, two rebounds and one assist per game averages) were the best guards on the floor in this game, and it wasn’t remotely close. The duo scored 33 points on 10-22 shooting and hit 5-8 of their three-pointers. Larkin was +9 and Ellington was +8 in the game. Preseason or not, the Pistons can’t be letting backcourts like what the Nets dragged out have their way with them.
Justin Harper led the Nets bench with solid production, hitting 5-10 shots from the floor and scoring 11 points, adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 27 minutes.
Who is Justin Harper, you might be asking? That’s a very reasonable thing for you to ask. Harper hasn’t played in the NBA since his rookie year in 2011-12, in which he played 84 minutes in 14 games for the Orlando Magic.
Ultimately, we’re going to chalk this one up to being just a preseason game, but don’t fool yourself and think that there weren’t some alarming signs tonight against the Nets.