What’s up with the Nets?
It’s safe to say that the Brooklyn Nets have turned a corner. After a tumultuous start tainted with controversy and off-court issues, the uber-talented team that always seemed to be missing a piece has figured it out.
The Nets have won their last five games and nine of their last 10 outings. Furthermore, they’re coming off an inspiring win courtesy of a Kyrie Irving buzzer-beater to beat the Toronto Raptors. Irving dropped 32 points while fellow star Kevin Durant fired 28. The duo brought a ton of star power but Brooklyn also got a huge boost from former Raptor Yuta Watanabe who added 17 points, including a late triple.
It also helps that the Nets are finally healthy. Everyone is on deck (save for Patty Mills who is on the injured list due to an illness), including Joe Harris, Seth Curry, and Ben Simmons. What’s the ceiling for this team? They obviously have star power, length at every position, a ton of shooting, and strong defensive players like Simmons, Royce O’Neale, and Nic Claxton.
The even scarier thought is that this latest iteration of the Nets has not yet reached its potential. By the looks of it, they’ll only get better by playing more together.
What’s up with the Pistons?
The Detroit Pistons are coming off a disappointing 122-113 home loss to the Sacramento Kings. What caused the demise of the Pistons was a 38-point third quarter by the visiting team. They held an 8-point halftime lead before the Kings unleashed a 17-2 run to start the second half.
Currently, the Pistons are 8-23, one of the four teams in the league who haven’t reached double-digit wins. The other three are the Hornets, the Spurs, and the Rockets. The wins have been hard to come by for the Motor City. And things went from bad to worse with the recent development of Cade Cunningham being ruled out for the season.
Despite the losses and bad news, there is still some fire coming out of Detroit. Bojan Bogdanovic, 33 years old and all, is still playing at an elite level. He is averaging a personal-best 21.1 points while shooting 49.9 percent from the field. His 3-point makes (2.6) and percentage (42.5 percent) tie his career-high. He’s been a dead-shot shooter ever since he came into the league and became a key player in playoff teams in Indiana and Utah. Now the 8-year veteran is making a strong impact on a young team.
Then there’s rookie Jalen Duren who just had a 15-point, 14-rebound game versus the Kings. He has pulled down at least 12 boards for five games in a row.
The Pistons may be a long shot to the playoffs this season but they are a feisty team who can give the Nets a run for their money.
