Three Takeaways From Nets Loss to Pistons

The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Detroit Pistons 125-107 on Friday night.

Early on, it looked like the Nets could've extended their short lived winning streak to two games, but once Detroit found cracks in Brooklyn's defense, the Pistons never looked back.

Here are three takeaways from the Nets loss to the Pistons.

1. Michael Porter Jr. Had a Few Questionable Decisions Despite Solid Night

Michael Porter Jr. found early success cutting off the ball, but had a few bad shot attempts. He was tightly guarded on many possessions but insisted on shooting them anyway.

There was one possession where Porter Jr. looked like he had an easy dunk, but he oddly dumped it off to Nic Claxton, which ended up putting a poor free-throw shooter at the line.

In the last four minutes of the second quarter, Porter Jr. had a 3-pointer and a solid take to the rim, leading to free throws, which helped Brooklyn stay in command of the lead. The Nets need to see more of Porter Jr. taking over when the team needs him most.

There were several possessions where it was apparent the Nets could've used a guy who could get you a bucket in the second quarter, especially when Porter Jr. was out of the lineup and Thomas out.

2. Egor Demin, Noah Clowney Looked Sharp

With Cam Thomas set to miss the next three to four weeks, the Nets gave Egor Demin his first career start.

Demin hit his first 3-pointer and had a nice take to the rim within the first two minutes of the game, showing aggression early.

Demin also hit his first five shots of the game.

Noah Clowney hit four of his first five triples, moving off the ball well and shooting it in rhythm.

3. Pistons Carve Up Nets Interior Defense

There were several early instances of the Pistons playing the passing lanes and beating the Nets down the court to the rim and Detroit beating Brooklyn on backdoor cuts inside.

Brooklyn gave up 70 points in the paint, including 40 points in the first half.

There were times throughout the game when the focus was lacking, which allowed Detroit to score points on the other end due to turnovers.

Terance Mann was playing Cade Cunningham full court and forced a backcourt violation. However, the Nets largely had trouble staying attached to Cunningham, who is one of the biggest guards in the league, especially on hard drives to the rim.