Brook Lopez will play against the Houston Rockets in Friday night’s matchup in Houston, the team announced. Lopez was a game-time decision and had sat out since November 15th with an ankle sprain.
The team also said that Kevin Garnett will not play vs. Houston, but just for resting purposes. Coach Jason Kidd noted in the offseason that he had a plan to rest Garnett in back-to-back situations, and though he has sine wavered on that plan, the Nets do play another game Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Garnett’s loss may not be much of a loss after all: he’s got the team’s second-worst net rating ahead of only Tyshawn Taylor, and the team’s offense is more than ten points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor this season.
Andray Blatche will start in Garnett’s place, a tandem that has made sense for the Nets in the past: the team outscored opponents by 14.6 points per 100 possessions with the two on the floor in the regular season and by 26.9 per 100 in the playoffs last year, and they’ve had success in limited time together this season.
