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| Reggie may be a great rebounder, but he's not a very good free throw shooter |
Looks like the Nets aren't going to win them all, at least in the preseason. In their first game back at the Barclays Center since the 2013 playoffs, the Nets fell to the new-look Detroit Pistons in a game that displayed the deficiencies of the Brooklyn roster.
Detroit outrebounded Brooklyn by 13 (12 in terms of defensive rebounds alone), taking away significant second-chance opportunities from the Nets. This meant that even though the Pistons committed six more turnovers than their opponent, they still took six more shots and in a game decided by just 11 points, those six were important.
Furthermore, the Nets took an astounding 53 free throws tonight as they were fouled 36 times by Detroit. However, only 30 of those attempts were made, resulting in a dismal 56.5% free throw percentage for the home squad that wasn't helped by Reggie Evans' 3-10 showing and Andrei Kirilenko's 2-6.
Some other observations I had from the game: Kevin Garnett only played 11 minutes, Paul Pierce and Brook Lopez played 14, and Joe Johnson played 21. Jason Kidd used a staggered time-limit for his starters tonight after holding them all to 12 minutes in the Nets' first preseason contest. Once again, Pierce didn't seem truly into the game as he only hit a three and made two free throws in his playing time, suggesting a less-than-productive performance. He's just getting into season shape, sure, but it would be nice to see some of the 'old' Paul Pierce before the preseason ends…..Not a great defensive effort from the Nets on Saturday night as the Pistons hit over 51% of their shots, most of which were dunks or lay-ups at the basket. Will Bynum, who had a game-high 11 assists, constantly broke to the hoop and was able to set up Tony Mitchell, Greg Monroe, and Andre Drummond–among others–with perfect and uncontested alley-oop passes……Gary Forbes and Marko Jaric made their Nets debuts. Nothing notable really, other than that Jaric's supermodel wife–Adriana Lima– was supposedly in Brooklyn for the game. I was there and didn't see her, so the night was essentially a failure….Tyshawn Taylor hurt his ankle in the second half and was diagnosed with a pretty severe sprain without a timetable for return. Not good news for a Nets team already missing its starting point guard.
Looking Ahead
The Nets look to break above .500 in the preseason on Monday in Philadelphia vs the 76ers.
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