Just another loss.
The Detroit Long-Two's. I know it needs some work.
The game started with a long 2 from Jennings, followed by a comically off target long 2 from Josh Smith. The Nets were moving the ball expertly right away, leading to a barrage of open jump shots being hit from Brooklyn's array of wily vets. KCP settled things down with a pair of 3's, but it was uphill all quarter long, highlighted by Josh Smith's handles letting him down on a fast break leading to an easy bucket for the Nets on the other end. Then Moose subbed in for Drummond, and the Pistons still immediately went right back to Smith in the post, things were weird in this quarter. Then Jerebko subbed in and immediately began paying dividends, with a hustle play leading to an easy bucket for Moose.
The second quarter was the Jonas show. The young Swede made plays all over the court, cutting without the ball, passing, hitting a long three from the top of the key, doing things that are good things. Moose was also a load in the post, using his mix of smarts, agile footwork and size to dominate the Nets inside the paint. D.J. Augustin also looked pretty good, looking comfortable running the offense, highlighted by a beautiful feed to Drummond to end the half.
The third quarter featured Josh Smith at point-forward quite a bit, which actually didn't go as terribly as it could have, but still always felt on the verge of collapse. Drummond though. Drummond. He started to get deep post position and was working hard on the glass, leading to a bushel of offensive rebounds. Jennings had one of the worst sequences I've ever seen from an NBA point guard - four possessions in a row that he personally flushed down the toilet in a dizzying variety of ways.That was the third quarter.
The fourth quarter began with a very, very handsome Jerebko step back. But it quickly felt as if the bench magic the Pistons discovered in the 2nd quarter had abandoned them, as the Nets ran out to a huge lead on the back of Darius Morris. But the Pistons had an answer, clawing their way back by clamping down on defense and Drummond cleaning up inside. The Pistons overcame a bevy of baffling shots, from Smith down the stretch and a bizarre play call by SVG that had Meeks launch a snap 3 as if there was 0.4 seconds left. Except there was over 10 seconds left in the game. A timeout was called, Jerebko gave Meeks an unearned high five, and that's the ballgame folks.
Kelser's Kudos
Andre Drummond. He started quietly, but by the end of the night there was no question who the best player for either team was. Drummond dominated, but it wasn't enough.
George Blahaha Moment of the Night
Meeks "desperation" three. I was watching with a couple of friends, and the best way to describe of the group reaction is: dumbfounded. Was it SVG's play call? Did Meeks sense an opportunity that wasn't immediately clear on the television set? Did he suddenly hallucinate the basketball was infested with angry fire ants?
Other notes
Sergey Karasev's hair looked like he'd been wearing a fleece lined winter hat with a big puffy poof on the top until about 30 seconds before tip-off
If you muted the TV, a somber Mickey York looked as if was delivering a eulogy during the post-game show.
Now your thoughts.