Battle of Losing Streaks: Pistons at Nets
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (5-22) at Brooklyn Nets (10-15)
- Date: December 21
- Time: 6:00 p.m.
- Television: NBATV, FSD+
Get in the Game
The Detroit Pistons will be playing at the Barclays Center tonight, where they will try to put an end to a three-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets have lost three straight as well, and will be trying to bounce back against the Pistons. However, Brooklyn could have a very tough time against Detroit if they are without starting point guard Deron Williams.
Williams is at the center of trade discussions with the Sacramento Kings, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, which means he might not be a Nets player by tip off. That appears unlikely considering that the talks weren’t necessarily in advanced stages, but head coach Lionel Hollins could nonetheless be without Williams, who is doubtful for tonight’s game because of a strained right calf.
It’s highly unlikely that Brooklyn will be able to function offensively without its floor general. Williams is the only player on the roster capable of finding players the moment they get open and hit them in stride. He’s an excellent distributor in the pick-and-roll, even when defenses take away his roll man.
Williams will find the open player on the weak side of the floor or hit the release valve option at the top of the floor, who ideally is Kevin Garnett. KG is very good at making mid-range jumpers and feeding open players as well when defenses are scrambling.
The one area where Williams struggles is scoring, and that’s part of the reason the Nets have a bottom-third offense. Once defenses figure out that all they have to do is force Williams to shoot off the bounce or create scoring chances for himself, Brooklyn gets into trouble.
Sure, Deron is averaging 15.3 points, but his 40.3 percent field-goal mark is hardly ideal. The Nets have a mediocre offense with Williams on the floor, but when forced to sit, Brooklyn scores 93.5 points per 100 possessions according to NBA.com’s advanced stats tool (subscription required). That figure is barely better than the bottom-feeding Philadelphia 76ers (91.1 points per 100 possessions).
As one could imagine, the Pistons are probably hoping Williams will sit given their porous defense. However, Detroit will still have to solve Brooklyn’s defense, and that’s hardly a cakewalk for a Pistons team that lacks consistent three-point shooting.
Andre Drummond and Co. will try to attack the paint early and often tonight, but they will realize that it’s easier said than done. The Nets bend their floor towards offensive players and clog the basket area like it’s nobody’s business.
Team Rankings tells us that Brooklyn is situated in the league’s top half with respect to defending the paint, and it will look to improve their spot against Detroit. The Nets are going to flat out ignore the Pistons’ shooters. Have a look below at how Brooklyn defended LeBron James in its last contest (he’s at the top off the floor):
Notice how far off the Nets played off Mike Miller who is situated in the weak side corner? Miller is an accomplished shooter who will finish the contest with seven made threes, and yet the Nets were perfectly happy to completely ignore him.
Ultimately, if the opposition makes enough long-range shots, the Nets will adjust and open up the interior ever so slightly, but the Pistons might not make enough to force an adjustment from Brooklyn.
Basketball is all about matchups, and the Nets and Pistons’ contest will provide ample evidence of that tonight.
Read about the Nets