Tonight: The 29-22 Brooklyn Nets travel to Indiana to play the 31-20 Indiana Pacers, at 7:00 P.M. EST tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Pacers had won five straight before losing to the Toronto Raptors 100-98 in overtime Friday night. The Nets have lost back-to-back games and six of their last nine games.
Watch & Listen: Tonight’s game is broadcast on YES Network. Ian Eagle and Greg Anthony are on the call. The game is radio simulcast on WFAN, and in Spanish on WADO.
More on tonight’s game, including injuries and stats, after the jump.
Out: The Nets are without point guard Deron Williams, who received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment for synovitis in both ankles. The Pacers have been without star forward Danny Granger all season.
Starting Lineups:
Indiana Pacers:: George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert (826 minutes, +/- +11.7 per 100 possessions)
Brooklyn Nets: C.J. Watson, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Reggie Evans, Brook Lopez (7 minutes, +/- +80.9 per 100 possessions)
Advanced Statistics:
Indiana Pacers: 100.0 offensive rating (24th), 96.2 defensive rating (1st), 92.33 possessions per game (26th)
Brooklyn Nets: 103.4 offensive rating (12th), 103.6 defensive rating (18th), 90.61 possessions per game (30th)
You read that right: Replacing C.J. Watson with Deron Williams in the starting lineup gives the Nets a lineup that has played just seven minutes over six games this season, and they’re facing the team that has the most-used five-man lineup in basketball: no team has a five-man lineup that’s played more than the Pacers starters’ 826 minutes together. That said, they’ve outscored opponents 20-10 in those seven minutes.
You read that right, part 2: The Nets have a 29-22 record despite their negative point differential. When they win games, they win by an average of 10.5 points per game. When they lose, they lose by an average of 13.3 points per game. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s enough to make the difference.
Oh, and here’s the Nets’ net rating by month:
Go Nets! Bring a barf bag.
D-Will out tonight. (AP)
