National Basketball Association

Brooklyn Nets: Pistons vs. Nets Takeaways and Player Grades

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:16 a.m. ET

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Oct 6, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Yogi Ferrell (10) goes up for a shot while being defended by Detroit Pistons forward Jon Leuer (30) during the second half at Barclays Center. The Nets won 101-94. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets opened their 2016-17 preseason with a 101-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Let’s break down this first preseason game for the Nets.

Any win is a good win for the Nets. While this is the first preseason game (it is preseason after all to other people’s eyes), the Nets showed everyone a glimpse of how they are going to play this season.

For the Nets, Jeremy Lin had a game-high 21 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point territory in just 17 minutes of action. Brook Lopez shot two three-pointers in the game, converting on one of them and accumulating 8 points in total. Luis Scola was also good from long range, shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc and finishing with 10 points. What seems to be the trend here is the Nets’ three point game, which was strong, as they shot 14-of-34 overall from three-point land. Joe Harris also added 12 points.

Aside from the scoring, Randy Foye led the team in assists with four. Trevor Booker and Justin Hamilton led the team with five rebounds apiece.

From player evaluations, to explaining what the Nets did right, let’s dive into this post-game analysis.

Oct 6, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brooks Lopez (11) plays the ball while being defended by and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Takeaways

1) Jeremy Lin Runs Point

Fresh off a solid season in Charlotte, Jeremy Lin was signed by the Nets. He was expected to lead the Nets as their starting point guard. Questions that rose up were: how will Lin perform as a point guard? How will he lead the Nets? Last night, we got a glimpse of what we will see from Lin during the season. Lin was aggressive as he drove to the basket, which was essential to his game. What stood out the most was his shooting, as he has evidently improved during the offseason. Lin shooting 5-of-8 from long distance shows that he worked on his shot. Whether he could keep it up is a question mark, but from what we saw last night, he showed no hesitation and scored when necessary.

2) Three-Point Shooting

The Nets’ three-point shooting was on point, finishing the game 14-of-34 from behind the arc. Other then Lin going 5-of-8 from long range, Brook Lopez himself shot two threes, making one. Perhaps this is a sign that Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson has given Lopez the green light to shoot threes and stretch the floor during the season. Will we see Lopez shoot more threes as the season progresses? Time will tell. Luis Scola also added to the three-point explosion, shooting 3-of-4 from three.

3) Ball Movement

Aside from three-point shooting, the amount of passing that was done during the game stood out. Several of the passes were assisted for a three-pointer. Throughout the game, the Nets gave up good shots for greater shots. They drew away defenders to give the shooters better shots. That’s the definition of team basketball.

The Starters

Jeremy Lin

PG, Brooklyn Nets

AJeremy Lin was a standout player for the Nets. He had a game-high 21 points and drove into the basket with no hesitation. He also shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc with ease, which is what Nets fans want to see from Lin. If Lin continues to play dominantly, he will do just fine on the Nets.

Randy Foye

SG, Brooklyn Nets

CRandy Foye didn’t do much in the game, nor did he have to. Foye scored 4 points on 1-of-4 shooting, while leading the team with four assists.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

SF, Brooklyn Nets

B-Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. He also grabbed three boards and added two assists. Hollis-Jefferson played hard defensively, giving a hard time to whoever he was assigned to guard.

Trevor Booker

PF, Brooklyn Nets

BTrevor Booker’s biggest highlight was jumping over Tobias Harris on a pump fake. Nonetheless, he contributed eight points, five rebounds, and 3 assists to the team.

Brook Lopez

C, Brooklyn Nets

BIn 13 minutes of action, Lopez scored eight points, including three from a three-pointer. It’s good to see Lopez attempting to shoot from long range.Next: Grading the Nets' Bench & Other Standout Players

The Bench & Other Standout Players

The Brooklyn Nets Bench

BThe Nets bench held down the fort while the starters were resting. During the first and second quarters, it was the bench that helped the Nets secure a lead over the Pistons. Players like Yogi Ferrell and Sean Kilpatrick played hard. Joe Harris scored 12 off the bench, while Luis Scola added 10 as a reserve as well. Justin Hamilton played somewhat of a stretch-four, contributing nine points. The Net’s bench was solid, scoring points and doing enough to help the Nets come out with the win against the Pistons.Next: Nets vs. Pistons Game Recap