The Nets (2-1) finish up their early four-game home-stand with a game tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats (0-3) at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Nets were able to notch two of their 12 wins against a fairly decent Bobcats team last year, so here are some things to watch for to keep the success rolling.
Don’t Sleep on a Winless Team: The Bobcats are going to be hungry to get their first win tonight after starting their season 0-3. Remember how hungry the Nets were after 18 straight losses last season? Yeah, well this Bobcats team is a lot better than last year’s Nets team. The Nets can’t afford to come out of the gate flat, because Charlotte has the defensive chops to put them away early.
Get Healthy: Jordan Farmar and Terrence Williams are both nursing injuries, and who knows what Troy Murphy will be able to provide, if anything tonight. Meanwhile, we learned earlier today that Anthony Morrow is dealing with an ankle issue. I love the depth of the Nets bench this year, especially with Farmar and TWill, but the second unit will struggle immensely if all of those players are hobbled in some way.
Get a Body on Gerald Wallace: Wallace had a couple of monster rebounding games against the Nets last season, including a 20-20 game. Considering some of the SF options the Nets were rolling out last season (TWill and Chris Douglas-Roberts, both a bit undersized for the three), the team should hopefully be able to control Wallace on the glass a bit more tonight with Outlaw, Favors and hopefully Murphy getting some time on the floor.
