How bad is it? This bad. (AP)
The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks face off tonight in what's widely considered the worst Nets-Knicks game of all time. Just how bad is it? Here's some facts we found on tonight's matchup.
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Brook Lopez
Andrea Bargnani: 46.6 FG%, 15.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 5.4 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 TPG, 31.4 MPG
Brook Lopez: 54.2 FG%, 19.3 PPG, 0.5 APG, 5.8 RPG, 0.5 SPG, 2.3 BPG, 1.5 TPG, 28.9 MPG
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EDGE:
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Full Matchup Breakdown:
One of these guys is the league's best scorer in the post. (AP)
In the fourth quarter, the Brooklyn Nets laid waste to what was a fifteen-point lead at one point, letting the Grizzlies claw back to within two points and make a game out of what was teetering on the edge of a blowout. With their backs against the wall, the Nets played a simplified offense run through Brook Lopez to perfection, and it ended in a 97-88 Nets victory.
Lopez struggled early in the first quarter in the post, hitting one of his first six shots in post-up situations and struggling mightily with Memphis Grizzlies center Kosta Koufos's length and strength. The one shot he did make in the post was a turnaround jumper from 15 feet in the first quarter, rather than pounding his back into the basket.
With Lopez fatigued, Kidd pulled him and Kevin Garnett gave him a pick-me-up as Joe Johnson ran the offense, floating between Iso-Joe and offensive Flow-Joe (Flo-Joe will probably not take off as a nickname.) In the middle quarters, the Nets used Andray Blatche for long stretches, who both did good, sane things (offensive rebounding, manning the paint) and good insane things (hitting a career-high three three-pointers, creating off the dribble from the three-point line for a layup. Indeed, Blatche scored 17 of his 21 points in the middle quarters, playing more time in the second and third than Lopez.
Then, when the Nets needed to maintain a lead in the fourth quarter, they went straight to Lopez, who played one of his best stretches of post play in his career.... MORE →
Dwight Howard (AP)
At 4-11, the Brooklyn Nets aren't very good. They're at the bottom of the NBA in defensive efficiency and their offense isn't much better. Three players skipped the team's two-game road trip with injuries, and a fourth missed seven straight games heading into tonight.
Here's three things to watch on the floor that aren't soda as they take on the 11-5 Houston Rockets.
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Nets Deron Williams (left), Brook Lopez won't make the trip to Toronto. (AP)
The Brooklyn Nets travel to Toronto today to take on the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, and they'll do so without at least two of their pieces. Nets center Brook Lopez and point guard Deron Williams will stay in New York and New Jersey to rehabilitate their sprained ankles. While Lopez did not speak with reporters following Monday's practice, coach Jason Kidd confirmed that Lopez won't travel to Toronto, while Williams himself said he would stay home to rest.
Both players are officially listed as day-to-day, and that's frustrated Williams, who would like to play now. "There's no hidden agenda," Williams said after the team practiced without him, exasperated.
Williams has every right to exasperation.... MORE →
Out, out, and... out. (AP)
Yet, somehow, the Nets only find themselves 1.5 games out of the division lead, which guarantees at least the 4th seed in the playoffs. Quickly, Brooklyn has approached the point of the season in which fans vehemently called for former coach Avery Johnson's head last year.
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AP
The Nets are catching too many breaks, and not the good kind. Starting Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams and center Brook Lopez have officially been ruled out once again as they each nurse sprained ankles, while backup small forward Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) and backup shooting guard Jason Terry (bruised knee) will both sit out Friday night's contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It has been a cruel stretch of bad luck for Williams; after having numerous problems with both ankles throughout his two-year tenure with the Nets, he appeared to turn a corner in February after receiving cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma therapy to soothe his ankle synovitis, playing like an elite-level point guard in the last three months of the season. But while working out as his Utah home in the offseason, Williams suffered a right ankle sprain, causing him to sit out training camp and all of one preseason game.
Then, in a cruel twist, Williams landed awkwardly on his left ankle against the Phoenix Suns last Friday when jumping up for a rebound, resulting in another sprain. Then, after Williams waited a few days, participated in a full practice plus bonus shooting drills, and told reporters he'd be ready to go with no restrictions, Williams landed awkwardly on Kemba Walker's foot in Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Bobcats, re-spraining the left ankle.
Lopez injured his ankle landing awkwardly in the fourth quarter of the Suns game and has not played since. He has no clear timetable for return. Kirilenko, who last played for the Timberwolves before signing a two-year contract with the Nets this past offseason, hurt his back in preseason and shuffled in and out of playing ever since, calling these spasms the worst of his career. It's not entirely clear when Terry bruised his knee, but the injury was listed on Wednesday's Nets injury report.
Shaun Livingston will start in Williams's place for the third time this season. The Nets have started both Andray Blatche and Reggie Evans in Lopez's place, and Mason Plumlee is also available at center.
Bismack Biyombo (right) and the Charlotte Bobcats grabbed victory out of the Nets' hands. (AP)
Check out the advanced box score, I guess.
5 final thoughts, including a question about a referee decision, after the jump.
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No word on when these two will return to the court. (AP)
Speaking to reporters before Monday night's Brooklyn Nets game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Nets head coach Jason Kidd addressed reporters about the injuries to Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, saying there was "no" timetable on their return.
Williams has received cortisone shots and platelet-rich plasma therapy treatment on his ankles since joining the Nets. He landed awkwardly on his left ankle in the second quarter of Friday night's game against the Phoenix Suns.
Lopez injured his ankle on a fall in the fourth quarter of the same game. Lopez returned on the next play, but neither he nor Williams have played since. Forward Andrei Kirilenko was also inactive for the sixth straight game, recovering from back spasms. Kirilenko originally incurred the spasms in preseason and has shuffled on and off the inactive list since.
"Hopefully they recover quicker," Kidd said of the trio. "They're younger, so we'll see how that plays out."
The Brooklyn Nets sat five players Saturday night in their 110-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and it looks like they may have the same lineup tonight.
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Joe Johnson was the Nets' only starter in uniform Saturday, leaning on the remnants of the roster to assist. (AP)
LOS ANGELES, C.A. -— No player, coach, or GM will ever tell you openly that a team's priorities lie anywhere other than squarely on winning a game on any given night. Saturday the Brooklyn Nets tiptoed carefully along that line, bolstering the suspicion that they're playing the long game: less concerned with nightly results and fixated instead on the holistic process.
Ask any of the Nets about their 110-103 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers, and he'll stress that this was a process loss, with the obligatory lip service that a win is a win and a loss yields nothing.
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According to the Brooklyn Nets Game Day Alert sent out to fans, the Nets will play the Los Angeles Clippers tonight without Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, after both suffered ankle injuries in Friday night's victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Williams injured his ankle in the first quarter of Friday night's contest, landing awkwardly on Miles Plumlee's foot and laying on the ground for several seconds. Lopez injured his ankle in the fourth after landing awkwardly while chasing a rebound, then colliding with Kevin Garnett. Williams did not return to the game after his accident, while Lopez continued to play without a substitution.
Shaun Livingston and Andray Blatche would be the team's likely replacement starters.
Nets head coach Jason Kidd has also said he has a "plan" for Garnett's rest schedule, which may include resting him in back-to-back games, but with Lopez out, Garnett may have to play some minutes at center against the Clippers, who boast a fearsome frontcourt in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Kidd has yet to comment on his team's health publicly, and since he makes the final decision, it's possible that plans could change.
Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) also did not make the trip.
