In Brooklyn the Pistons beat the Nets 106-92 and achieved their second victory of the season: the improving blue player plays 24 minutes with a brilliant +10 plus/minus
The Pistons raise their heads again. Fresh from the defeat suffered against the Knicks, even defeated by 30 points, they have a lot going against the other New York team. In Brooklyn they beat the Nets 106-92 for their second victory of the season. The record remains poor, 2-5, but some timid signs of growth have been glimpsed at the Barclays Center. Six Detroit players finished in double figures in points, the starting five plus Malik Beasley. Simone Fontecchio, on the other hand, stops at 7, coming off the bench, but plays 24 minutes and displays a brilliant +10 plus/minus, the team score with him on the parquet. After a decent first half, the Nets fell short, despite Cam Johnson’s 26-point evening. They don’t have a head and a tail as a game physiognomy, the 3-4 record is even magnanimous compared to the actual value. Tanking team that will hunt Cooper Flagg, the probable number 1 pick of the 2025 draft.
CHIAROSCURi
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Detroit dominates in rebounding (47-27), with Riace bronzes Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart sweeping away everything and everyone under the scoreboards. Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey instead go in spurts, intermittently. Prowess, but also messes. Both talents are crystal clear, but not necessarily well matched together on the perimeter. The Nets showcase a smart shooter in Johnson and a solid role player in Finney-Smith. Very little else. Ben Simmons, the Australian first choice of the 2016 draft, looks like a former player, the reserve center Nick Claxton puts on a reverse show at free throws: 4/12, even. Atrocious. On the day of the New York marathon, the one in which the Pistons arrived by subway to the game, Detroit comes out at a distance, showing a significantly superior “resistance”.
FONTECCHIO OK
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He still doesn’t seem at his best physically in terms of athletic explosiveness, but he plays judiciously. As a team, European style, always looking for the extra pass, trying to do the right thing. Team player. He shoots poorly, 1/6 from the field, but scores 7 points and pulls down 8 rebounds in 24 minutes, above average compared to what Coach Bickerstaff had allowed him recently.
THE MATCH
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Sleepy start in the city that never sleeps. Fontecchio enters with the first round of changes for the Pistons, Detroit ahead 29-25 at the end of the 1st quarter. Defenses not arriving or at least late like the Barclays Center crowd, who arrived at the arena very calmly, that’s it. The level of play is not unforgettable, but at least the game is balanced, 57-52 Nets at halftime. Cam Johnson with 22 points, Jalen Duren with 8 rebounds. A triple from Fontecchio keeps the guests tied at 73 all. Pistons then ahead 83-77 at the end of the 3rd period after a “tremendous” by Tobias Harris. Detroit extends, even up +11, to 94-83. Finished. The Nets never get closer again, Detroit wins on autopilot.
Brooklyn: Johnson 26 (6/7, 3/12, 5/6 t.l.), Thomas 17, Finney-Smith 9. Rimbalzi: Simmons 6. Assist: Simmons 6.
Detroit: Cunningham 19 (7/9, 1/4, 2/3 tl), Harris/Beasley 18. Rebounds: Duren 17. Assists: Cunningham/Harris 6. FONTECCHIO 7 (0/2, 1/4, 4/5 tl) .
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