Pregame Open Thread: New Jersey Nets vs. Charlotte Bobcats

The Nets (24-56) have their home finale of the season against the Charlotte Bobcats (32-48). Here are some of the keys for this landmark occasion.

How many players will dress? I’ve made a number of jokes lately about the Nets not fielding an NBA team (sadly I’m not the only one). But seriously this is getting ridiculous. Mario West and Ben Uzoh were apparently banged up during the game last night. So by my count the Nets have Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Brandan Wright, Dan Gadzuric, Brook Lopez, Johan Petro, Travis Outlaw and Stephen Graham. That’s the bare minimum to dress. And good Lord that’s awful.

Get Away from the Trey: This one goes out to Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. I know they like to shoot long-balls, but both have been remarkably cold the past three games (Farmar 4-17, Sasha, 3-14). I know the Nets are extremely limited in what they can do but when Brook Lopez is scoring 25+ points in his sleep, maybe they should just keep working on getting him the ball.

Why is Brandan Wright So Low on the Depth Chart? Only in the land of Little General-ia can a former lottery pick who’s still quite young have to still “earn” his minutes when the team is ravaged by injuries. In his paltry 15 minutes on Sunday, Wright netted a +11 while Gadzuric and Petro continue to put up negative numbers from the PF spot. I understand that Wright is not the answer, but is there honestly anything left to lose by playing him 30+ minutes tonight? I mean, this is a legitimate question because it really doesn’t get much worse and I don’t want to hear from the defend-Avery crowd that Wright just “doesn’t get it” or he’s trying to save him as a sparkplug off the bench. Just silliness.

For some Charlotte insights that are likely to be more riveting than these next two games, check out Queen City Hoops.