Looking to snap a four game losing streak, the Detroit Pistons (22-22) play host to the Brooklyn Nets (17-29) on Sunday afternoon. It’s the second meeting in 11 days between these two clubs. Detroit won the last contest (their most recent victory) 114-80 on Jan 10.
The Detroit Pistons find themselves in an unfamiliar position. After spending most of the season in the playoff picture, they’ve stumbled to ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
But if there’s a silver lining for the Pistons, it’s that the Brooklyn Nets are in town for a matinee matchup. Detroit’s most recent victory came against this very team back on Jan. 10. Andre Drummond engineered a monster 22-point, 20-rebound performance.
His interior presence will be needed once again. The Nets rank fourth in the NBA when it comes to rebounds per game, with an average of 45.6. Detroit on the other hand averages 41.9. That’s good enough for 21st in the league.
Drummond (leading the NBA with 15.1 RPG) accounts for 36 percent of Detroit’s rebounds per game. So when he is off the floor, or drawn outside of the paint, the Pistons struggle mightily on the glass.
A total of eight Nets’ players grab at least four rebounds per game. As for the Pistons? Only Drummond and Tobias Harris (5.1) currently fit that criteria. However, Detroit did finish with 54 boards in their last meeting against Brooklyn, who mustered only 35. Expect rebounding to play a key role in Sunday’s contest.
In addition to that, the Pistons will have to put forth a better effort defensively. They gave up a 45-point third quarter to the Washington Wizards in Friday night’s loss. Sure, Brooklyn is certainly not as talented as Washington.
But that hasn’t stopped Detroit from losing to teams like Charlotte, Chicago and Orlando. In all three of those losses, they allowed 100 or more points. The Pistons are 12-5 when holding their opponents to under the century mark.
Even with the recent success of former-Piston Spencer Dinwiddie, the Nets rank 27th in offensive rating. They’re scoring just 105.3 points per 100 possessions.
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If there is such a thing as a “bounce back” game, this would suffice. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. on Fox Sports Detroit.