Pistons beat Bucks; stifle Jennings

This was a nice statement victory for the Pistons, winning their first divisional game after losing their first three in the division. Coming into this game, the Bucks were one of the surprise teams in the league, with a 9-8 record (despite injuries to Bogut and Redd) when many expected them to finish near the bottom of the eastern conference coming into the season. And leading the way for the Bucks was rookie sensation Brandon Jennings, but he was far from that tonight.

Here are the keys to the Pistons win:

• Stuckey: He was just terrific last night, and personally, I feel it was his best overall game of the year. He started the game by being aggressive offensive, hitting 5 of 8 shots for 14 points in the first half on a variety of jumpers and drives to the hoop. Every shot he took was open and on balance. His catch and finish (on a long pass from Gordon) to beat the halftime buzzer was simply spectacular.

In the second half, we saw Stuckey set up his teammates; two dishes to Ben Wallace on pick and rolls for wide open dunks, several passes that were zipped it into open cutters behind the Bucks’ defense, and a nice drive and dish to Charlie V for a corner three (in the first half). Stuckey only took 3 shots in the second half, but he made 3 of them. But it wasn’t his scoring in this game that was impressive… we’ve seen this guy drop 40 before. It was his willingness to pass and look for his teammates first that caught my eye. The only negatives in this game for Stuckey were 3 turnovers on charges and he did leave Delfino wide open on several shots in that first half. But otherwise, an absolutely great game for Stuckey. He finished with 19 points (on 7 for 11 shooting), 9 dimes and 6 rebounds.

• Controlling Jennings and manning the Paint: This was a big task for the Pistons, slowing down a guy who came into this game with a 55 point game under his belt and averaging 22/6/4 on the season. But the Pistons did a number on him – containing him off the dribble and pick & rolls and forcing him to take jump shots. They executed the strategy to perfection, limiting him to 15 points on 6 for 20 shooting. The Pistons once again dominated in the paint, outscoring the Bucks 46-20, and killing them on the glass, 46-31. Bogut was held in check by Big Ben, forcing him away from the basket and putting immense pressure on every shot (4 for 9 shooting for 8 points). In addition to his usual stout defense, Big Ben also chipped in with 10 points, including 4 thunderous dunks.
  

There are many positive things that the Pistons can build upon from this game. They cut harder, set better screens and were more active moving without the ball then they’ve been all year (in my estimation). The activity on the offensive end led to 57% shooting and 18 fast break points. But they also a bit frenetic at times, turning the ball over 21 times. Some of that can be credited to the Bucks pressure defense (leading the league in forced turnovers), but far too many of them were careless mistakes. That’s something they’ll need to correct moving forward.

I also didn’t understand why Kuester went back to Chucky Atkins for the final 2:26 of the game. It didn’t make sense at that point in the game with an 11 point lead to put in a 3 guard lineup, which hinders you defensively. And given that most teams don’t respect Atkins or Wallace as offensive weapons, it hurts you offensively as well, as teams sag off and help on the dribble penetration of the guards. This lineup had some sloppy plays in the final couple minutes, which forced the Pistons to have to make free throws to seal the game that they never should have had to make. That was a bad coaching decision by Kuester, but other than that I can’t complain. The Pistons dominated this game wire to wire.

Good win Pistons!

Next Game: Washington Wizards, Sun. Dec 6th, 6:00 EST