The Pistons are bad, and the Nets took advantage of that with a good combination of three-pointers, post-ups, and drives to the basket. They defended well, staying home on the pick-and-roll and switching at the right moments, and other than some athletic dunks and a continuation of their year-long rebounding issues, the Nets closed this one out strong.
15 straight at home now.
Put up some solid minutes after a rough start that featured two badly missed layups (one an open layup, one a blocked shot tossed into Kyle Singler’s arm), distributing the ball well and extending his league-best streak of games with at least one steal to 25.
This might be proximity bias, because I’ve watched every minute Livingston’s played this season, but everything he can do is evident now. The Nets starters play far better when he’s on the floor. He’s one of the best post scorers for a guard in the league. He can get his eight-foot jumper off over almost anybody. His assist numbers underrate his passing ability. He bounces off the floor en route to the rim.
Please, no one else in the NBA notice.
Hey, other NBA teams: Shaun Livingston is really bad. Just a fluke. Don’t offer him anything, please. Thanks.
— The Brooklyn Game (@TheBKGame) April 5, 2014
Hit a few shots in rhythm in the first half and they didn’t really need him after that.
Foul trouble aside, a nice lefty dunk, two-hand dunk, and semi-dagger three-pointer in the fourth.
I WANT THE NEWS, NOT THE WEATHER. MORE LIKE BACON FAT. TIME TO YELLOW SUBMARINE ALL OVER YOUR FACE? DOES THIS GAME GRADE MAKE NO SENSE? NEITHER DOES YOUNG SEYMOUR DEFENDING LIKE YI’S CHAIR, CROSSING OVER LIKE JAMAL CRAWFORD AND HITTING STEP-BACK JUMPERS ON HIS WAY TO THE PHILIPPINES PRACTICE FACILITY.
DON’T TELL ME THINGS GOTTA MAKE SENSE IN BLATCHELAND.
Returned to the floor for the first time since spraining his left ankle on March 23rd, and made an immediate impact. He picked up two quick steals, the second he anticipated before the Pistons even knew they were going to make the pass. It was quietly incredible.
The Nets just kept running pick-and-pops with him on the floor and he just kept burying three-pointers. Teams tend to gameplan more in the playoffs, but they might also place too much attention on the stars, which would leave role players like Teletovic open. This game stands as a reminder: he’s dangerous if he’s open, and if he can make his shots in big moments, he could swing some playoff games.
TWIN, SCORER. As many points as Greg Monroe and a decent job on Andre Drummond? I’ll take that from the last player on the bench any day.
Quick foul trouble for Plumlee kept him out of most of this game, but contributions from Blatche and Collins meant they didn’t miss him much. But the way he’s played brings up an interesting question: when Kevin Garnett returns, does he usurp Andray Blatche’s spot in the rotation?
