Pistons lose ugly game in Brooklyn
83. 64. 87. 147. Final
The Pistons were very fortunate to play the Nets tonight. Had it been just about any other NBA team (minus the Sixers), the Pistons would have probably gotten blown out. The offense was stagnant all night long, and even when they were able to create open looks the shots just were not falling. Despite Brooklyn being equally as bad offensively tonight, the Pistons lost their second straight and are now 8-9, falling below .500 for the first time this season.
Here are the grades:
D-. Jackson was not good tonight. He scored 8 points on an abysmal 4-20 from the floor, and just kept shooting down the stretch, capped off with an air ball on an errant attempt to tie in the final seconds. Having the confidence to keep shooting is a good thing, but as a point guard you have to be able to recognize when it’s just not your night. Tonight was definitely not Reggie’s night. He gets the lowest non-failing grade possible due only to the fact that he had 9 assists and just 3 turnovers. . PG. Pistons. REGGIE JACKSON
B+. KCP struggled a little bit with his shot, but he still scored 21 points on 6-17 shooting, and he hit a clutch three pointer down the stretch to tie the game. He also pulled down a season high 7 rebounds. He was his usual self on defense, hounding point guard Jarret Jack and holding him to just 11 points.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
SF. Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON. B. Stanley looked solid out there tonight. He shot just 4-10, but scored 10 points with 5 rebounds and only 1 turnover in 27 minutes. He also hit 2-3 from three.
C-. It was a very quiet night for Marcus Morris. He scored just 7 points on 3-10 shooting in 35 minutes. Not much else to say about his performance tonight. . SF. Pistons. MARCUS MORRIS
ANDRE DRUMMOND. A. Andre showed some maturity tonight. He struggled with his shot, shoting just 9-19 from the field and 2-11 from the free throw line, but he still managed to score 20 points and pull down 18 rebounds. The Andre Drummond of old would have hung his head and gotten frustrated, but he stayed in it and played hard throughout tonight’s game. Andre had an incredible sequence in the third quarter where he got a steal, took it the length of the court for a layup, got fouled and made the free throw. Then he caused a turnover on the other end, and pulled down two offensive rebounds on the Pistons’ ensuing possession. It was a great effort overall from the big man.. C. Pistons
Pistons. ARON BAYNES. D. Baynes didn’t do much of anything in his 11 minutes. He shot 1-5 (which included a desperation three at the end of the shot clock) for 2 points and only 1 rebound. . C
The “bad Anthony Tolliver” came to play tonight. He didn’t score at all in the game, missing all 6 of his shot attempts, including 5 three pointers, most of which were wide open. When his shot isn’t falling, it’s hard to keep him on the floor.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER. F
ERSAN ILYASOVA. B-. Ilyasova scored just 8 points and pulled down 5 rebounds, but he only took 9 shots, making 4 of them. He could have used some more looks, but his point guard wasn’t looking to get anyone else involved most of the night. Ersan was a team best +6.. PF. Pistons
Pistons. STEVE BLAKE. C+. I never thought there would come a time when I would be asking for Steve Blake to come back into the game, but that’s how bad Reggie Jackson was tonight. Blake was decent, scoring 7 points on 3-5 shooting to go along with 4 assists, but he was far better than Jackson in his 18 minutes.. PG
B-. I don’t think this one is on Van Gundy, although I think keeping Jackson on the bench down the stretch and would have given the Pistons a better chance to win. Not much the coach can do about 33.7 percent shooting.. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY