Brooklyn Nets vs. Detroit Pistons Takeaways and Grades

Takeaways

1) The Nets attacked the glass

Against Detroit, Brooklyn was rather impressive in attacking the glass. The Nets may not have out-rebounded Detroit–46 boards to the Pistons’ 51– but the gap between the two teams’ rebounding numbers was not all that much. Considering the Pistons are the fifth-best rebounding team in the NBA while the Nets rank 17th, competing on the glass already posed as a major feat for the Nets to overcome leading into this game. Brooklyn also displayed huge improvement on the offensive boards; they finished with 11, which is over two more than their season average.

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Plus, what’s even more notable about the Nets’ offensive rebounds is the timing of some of them. Spencer Dinwiddie‘s incredible hustle after his own missed shot two minutes into the third quarter allowed him to come up with two offensive boards. Midway into the fourth, with the Nets squeamishly holding onto an 84-79 lead, Isaiah Whitehead, Quincy Acy, LeVert and Lopez all chipped into offensive rebounding opportunities that would eventually lead to a successful Lopez tip-in. This is the kind of hustle Brooklyn needs to show every night to compete for second-chance points, and it’s an even greater accomplishment for the team since none of the guys I mentioned in these particular plays are named Trevor Booker.

2) Turnovers were less of an issue

It’ll be a dream come true once the Nets can finally keep their turnovers to under double digits, which they haven’t accomplished since November 20. That was also the only time this season the Nets turned the ball over fewer than 10 times in a game. However, 10 turnovers for last night’s matchup isn’t all too bad, considering their astounding rate of 16.8 per game on the season. More importantly, the Nets didn’t have any careless passes or possessions in the crucial final minutes of the game that resulted in any turnovers. Think of this as slow but steady progress, and Brooklyn doesn’t look like a completely lost cause on that frontier.

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3) Archie Goodwin and K.J. McDaniels can be more than benchwarmers

In light of the latest injury bug hitting Jeremy Lin, Sean Kilpatrick and Joe Harris, the Nets have been awarding extended minutes to Archie Goodwin (the guy is on a 10-day contract, why not play the dude?) and K.J. McDaniels. Both had solid contributions last night: scoring in double figures on superb shooting from the field, while showing various flashes of potential in remaining with the team. Goodwin kept flipping in wild layups, while McDaniels used his athleticism to hustle his way into the paint to convert on numerous layups. With the season winding down and no worries of playoff dreams being crushed (or any hopes being dashed for that matter), there’s no harm in playing the new guys. If Goodwin and McDaniels keep up this level of play, then they just might see themselves on the Nets next season with larger roles.