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Nets fall to Pistons as Drummond dominates

By Net Income
Brooklyn Nets

Jason Kidd will have to wait another day to get his first "W" but he does have his first "T."

The Nets fell to the Pistons in the last game of the Orlando Magic Summer League, as Andre Drummond played like a man among boys, stuffing the box score with 12 points, 16 boards (7 offensive), six blocks and five steals. Mason Plumlee didn't play badly in his first NBA game, finishing with 10 points, 14 boards, and a drive, spin and dunk that electrified the small crowd. But it was the Detroit big man who dominated the paint. The Nets staff, which includes former Piston big man coach Roy Rogers, tried to take advantage of his one big weakness, poor foul shooting, running "Hack-a-Drummond" late in the game but the 6'11" Drummond got help and the effort failed.

For Kidd, who often let Lawrence Frank draw up plays, the most memorable moment came in the fourth when he was hit with a technical for stepping out of the coach's box while protesting a call. He called the "T" and the game "a learning experience."

"This is summer school for me and so hopefully, I’m going in the right direction," Kidd told several Nets beat writers who traveled to Orlando for his debut. "I’m learning and as a coach, you’re going to learn everyday, both the good and bad. My job come training camp is to get settled with the guys we have on the team. I think every coach in this league learns everyday from the game."

The Nets two roster players, Tyshawn Taylor and Toko Shengelia didn't have good games, but summer league games don't count. Taylor led the Nets and the game with 17 points but shot 6-for-18 and finished with one assist and six turnovers, not the kind of performance that that will encourage thoughts of him backing up Deron Williams. Shengelia shot a miserable 1-for-7, including 0-for-3 from deep, and committed five fouls in 24 minutes. Damion James played well, finishing with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds.

After the game, James tweeted...

Taylor was asked about Kidd's demeanor as coach. "He’s the same way he was just talking to ya’ll: Mad soft spoken, just cool," said the second year pro who's now on his third pro coach.

The other news out of the game was the presence of John Welch, a Nuggets assistant, on the bench. Stefan Bondy tweeted that Welch is likely to join Kidd's staff.

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