Detroit Pistons vs Brooklyn Nets - 3/7/2024

Game Breakdown

Pistons - 118 - 112 W

• Cade, Ivey, Ausar, Stew, Duren

  • Opening action of the game is backscreen for a post up for Stew (not sure I love this one to start the game)

    • I like that Monty tries to get guys involved (even the role players) but a Stew post up isn’t how I would want to start the game, in general

    • Eventually they get to a Duren-Stew hi-low (which does have good chemistry) but Stew gets called for 3 seconds

  • Continue to love the Cade-Duren chemistry in PnR

  • SUBS/ROTATIONS

    • Fontecchio first sub for Duren moving Stew to the 5 (I LOVE THIS!)

      • Does it in the 2nd half also

      • Right around the 6:00 mark is where I wouldn’t hate to see Ivey come out and maybe Sasser actually plays WITH Cade…as an off the ball floor spacer and point of attack defender (could be Grimes when healthy)

    • All bench+Ivey (for 1 possession……what?)

      • Now it’s all bench+Ausar (24-8 Pistons)

      • Who is the creator in this lineup? You have play finishers

        • Ausar, Fontecchio, Fournier and even Wiseman (it’s the one thing he might provide) but nobody to actually facilitate that

        • Sasser creates shots for himself but not really for others in that way

      • We get 5 MINUTES! Of this lineup (what are we doing?) and score is now 34-29 Pistons

        • Nets were going to eventually start making shots but just makes no sense to go 5 minutes without Cade or Ivey, not with this bench group

    • IVEY TO START THE 4TH QUARTER AFTER CADE PLAYS THE ENTIRE 3RD QUARTER!!!!! FINALLY!

      • Absolutely dominates this 4 minute stretch outside of 1 bad turnover

    • IN FAIRNESS, the starters are on the floor when they actually lose the lead before halftime

      • Nets start making shots AND go zone (something that has caused issues for the Pistons)

    • IF MONTY IS ADAMANT ABOUT THE ALL BENCH UNITS…

      • Then it is on Troy Weaver to build the right roster to fit that

      • I don’t agree with it, not with Cade and Ivey, but if that’s going to be what he does then the GM/FO has to give him the tools to make it as successful as possible

  • CADE OREB with around 9:00 in the 3rd quarter off an Ausar shot clock heave could be a turning point here (doesn’t end up being the case in terms of a big run)

    • Ivey doesn’t settle for a 3PA but dribbles into rhythm 15 footer that he makes off that OREB

    • Ausar hits a 3 off Cade drive

    • DUREN hand activity in ball screen forces a steal

  • I am kind of over anyone other than Cade or Ivey (Sasser when necessary) bringing the ball up the floor

    • They do both each have a bad turnover late in the game when they are trying to put it on ice

  • Goodness they try to give this away with a couple of OREBs and some bad turnovers

• IVEY with a BEAUTIFUL off the ball cut in the first minute

  • It is THESE instincts that make me believe in his ability to be fine playing off the ball (in the minutes necessary)

  • Did NOT like his first 3PA because he was off balance, defender goes under screen so he probably needs to take it but there was time to reset his feet

    • 2nd One is okay, I kind of haven’t loved him taking one pass transition 3PAs but he was wide open and got his feet completely set 

    • LOVE the attempt mid 2nd, these are the ones he has to make

      • 10 on the shot clock, no closeout coming, able to step into it and be on balance

    • The one at the start of the 4th is similar to the first attempt of the game but he is much more on balance and then another

      • Has also pressure the rim on every other possession outside of these 3PAs

• AUSAR has been AWESOME on Bridges through the first 4 minutes

  • He is making his life miserable all game long

  • Then has a perfectly timed low man rotation and block

  • Love the attack and dunk midway through the 1st quarter

    • If you get a chance, go back and watch how LOW the crossover is on that move

    • It’s one dribble move, downhill and explode to the rim (love this process)

    • Another one to start the 3rd quarter

      • One dribble move, downhill and this time reads the defense perfect for the lob to Duren

  • CORNER 3PM!! Just get these ones!

  • How fun is this kids vertical pop and athleticism

• DUREN with an AWESOME “highway screen” middle first quarter the leads to an Ivey layup

  • HUGE STEAL in the 3rd quarter where he has awesome hand placement in ball screen coverage

• CADE FIRST 3PM!!!!

  • Again, if you can go watch and see the arm angle and the follow through and how much arc he gets on this attempt (it is perfect and I truly believe this will bump his consistency)

  • Man, this is looking PURE and if he is making 3s he is going to be SOOOO tough to stop

    • 44% on 5.0 3PAs per game in his last 16 GP

    • Also averaging 8 APG to just 2.8 TOPG in those 16

  • If he starts finishing these attempts at the rim through contact….forget about it, he will be the franchise cornerstone piece that the organization needs

  • Still has some REALLY rough turnovers in the 1st half

  • Looking a little SPRINGY! Okay!

  • ICING THE GAME FROM THE MID RANGE

• STEW “forcing” misses at the rim, not sure whether this is him or Nets players just missing but a few examples just from the first quarter

  • Essentially gives up the same % of makes inside the restricted area as Duren on the same amount of attempts

    • These numbers aren’t top of the league at all but not bottom of the league either for players who contest more than 10 per game

  • I do like Stew posting up when he gets that awesome position to just catch and score

    • Gets a 2nd 3-second call in the 1st half, you just can’t be having him get 3-second calls

    • Quick post position with a catch and score OR get out

• SASSER talks back to Monty after a defensive screen and roll possession early in the 2nd quarter and immediately gets the sub for Malachi Flynn

  • Nope, looks like Monty thought better of it and sent Flynn back to the bench

• FONTECCHIO has a couple rough process drives where he turns it over and gets blocked

  • I like that he has shown ability to attack off the dribble but should only be in situations where he gets run off the line OR defense is in scramble

• WISEMAN length shows up defensively a couple times in this late 3rd quarter run

  • Had some nice play finishes as well

  • Illegal Screen….these have to stop

Nets

• DSJ, Schroder, Bridges, DFS, Claxton

  • They are playing SMALL when Claxton goes out (Bates-Diop essentially as the “5”)

  • Duren has worked them over in the paint thus far

  • It is legit like 5 guys, all the same size…just such a unique roster construction that I can’t quite figure out

    • I know there are some outliers here both ways (Schroder, DSJ, Claxton) but I just look out on the court at any given time and I can’t figure out the complementary sizes and skills

  • RANDOM but not sure I have seen a team travel as many times as they did in this game

• CLAXTON length and rim protection really showing up in a couple of these possessions

• SCHRODER continue to be a guard that is interesting to me, in general, as a backup

  • He is consistently pressuring the paint