3. LeVert did all the little things
Caris LeVert didn’t have his biggest offensive night of the season on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. But LeVert’s steady hand and composure in the lane played big roles as the Brooklyn Nets chipped away at Detroit’s lead down the stretch.
LeVert finished with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, going 1-for-5 from deep and hitting 4-of-6 at the foul line.
But he also had six rebounds, six assists and two steals in a terrific all-around performance. And what he was able to do in the late going with his penetrating and hesitation moves in traffic helped keep the ball moving at a time when the Nets were having some problems in that area.
He did most of his scoring damage in the first half, scoring 13 points. But his poise with the ball late enabled Brooklyn to keep things together offensively after the Nets had some breakdowns with ball movement and player movement earlier.
In a career-high 40 minutes, he was active on both ends and recognized the hot hand when Spencer Dinwiddie exploded in the fourth quarter, making an extra effort to get the ball to Dinwiddie after the point guard had given it up.
LeVert did a lot of big things, but more importantly for the Nets, he did all of the little ones.