Nets Playoff Watch: Games That Impact Brooklyn

Tonight the Brooklyn Nets will face the Memphis Grizzlies as they continue to fight for a higher seed — currently eighth — in the Eastern Conference standings. That will not be the only game affecting their objective however as the Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks — who rank ninth and tenth respectively — also suit up tonight.

There’s only a two-game difference between the Nets and the Hawks so there’s certainly potential for Brooklyn to fall which is what the team will have to fight against. Brooklyn’s opponent is also significantly tougher than those the Hornets and Hawks will face tonight but more on that in a bit. For now, it’s time to take a look at the Hornets’ game against the New York Knicks.

Charlotte Hornets vs. New York Knicks (7 p.m.)

The Charlotte Hornets are coming off of an exciting victory over CJ McCollum and the New Orleans Pelicans. They move on to face the New York Knicks tonight in Charlotte as they continue to fight for a top-eight seed in the East.

Although the Hornets will once again be without Gordon Hayward due to an ankle injury, health still favors Charlotte as the Knicks will be without Julius Randle, Derrick Rose, Kemba Walker, Cam Reddish, and likely Nerlens Noel. The Knicks are struggling mightily at the moment, most recently coming off of a loss against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks just last night.

This season has been one of the most disappointing in recent memory for New York, especially considering their surprise playoff berth last season. The Hornets will likely take care of business in tonight’s game meaning that the Nets will certainly have to take care of business against the Grizzlies as Charlotte is only one game back of Brooklyn.

Betting Lines

Per FanDuel, Charlotte opens tonight’s game as the favorites to win the matchup.

Spread: Charlotte -7
Charlotte Moneyline: -280
New York Moneyline: +230
O/U: 226.5

Atlanta Hawks @ Detroit Pistons (7:30 p.m.)

Atlanta is riding high coming off of a win over the New York Knicks which saw a 45 point outburst by star Trae Young. Tonight the Hawks have even less of a challenge ahead of them as they are set to face the last-place Detroit Pistons.

Although the Pistons boast star rookie Cade Cunningham, the team just doesn’t have the firepower to hold up against the Hawks’ high-powered offense. Atlanta is missing John Collins from their lineup and that is no small loss, so perhaps there is a chance that Detroit could surprise tonight, but the odds remain in Atlanta’s favor.

Again, the Atlanta Hawks are only two games behind Brooklyn so a win by Atlanta does put the team’s feet to the fire to a certain degree.