Tonight's game matches up two teams that have two of the worst records in the Eastern Conference and even the whole league as well. To put it simply, the Nets and Bobcats stink at this point in the season.
Background on Charlotte
Like the Nets, the Bobcats are a team in transition and are mainly built around a bunch of young players and rookies around the age of 25 like point guard D.J. Augustin, shooting guard Gerald Henderson (who played his college ball at nearby Duke), center Byron Mullens, and rookies Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo in addition to other players. The Bobcats did get a lot younger this offseason when they traded veteran guards Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston to Milwaukee as part of a three-team Draft day deal which netted Charlotte veteran Corey Maggette (also from nearly Duke) and the 7th pick in the Draft, which was used on Biyombo.
Previous Games
The Bobcats are coming off of a 95-89 loss last night in Chicago to an injury-depleted Bulls team that was missing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah among others. The loss was Charlotte's 9th in their last 10 games so it seems like the Nets are catching them at a good time as they haven't really played solid basketball in awhile. Henderson and Mullens were the only two Charlotte starters who played well as Henderson scored 22 pointswith 9 rebounds while Mullens added 17 points. Rookie reserve Cory Higgins also added 10 points off the bench.
As outlined in my recap of last night's Nets game against the Thunder, last night the Nets lost a tough one to Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City. The Nets couldn't really get any offensive rhythm going against the Thunder as they only shot 31% from the field. Specifically, the usual Nets high scorers, Deron Williams and Marshon Brooks, combined for a dreadful 11-35 from the field. There was some good news from the loss as the Nets defense looked much better than in recent games as evidenced by the relatively low 42% the Thunder, a normally efficient shooting team, shot from the field.
Probable Lineups
CHA- Augustin (PG), Kemba Walker (SG), Thomas (SF), Diaw (PF), Byron Mullens (C)
NJN- D.Williams (PG), Brooks (SG), Stevenson (SF), Humphries (PF), Okur (C)
Matchup To Watch- SG: Marshon Brooks vs Kemba Walker
I'm very excited to watch these two rookies drafted in the 1st-round of last year's draft face off tonight. Each player is extremely talented on offense but there is also some added intrigue to this match-up as these guys faced each other multiple times in college as they both played in the Big East, Walker with UConn and Brooks with Providence. Last season, the only game in which these two guys faced off was won by Walker's UConn squad as they crushed Marshon and Providence by 18 points. Walker dropped 22 points along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists while Marshon scored 25 to go with 7 boards. Of course, later on that season Kemba would lead UConn to a National Championship. I'm hoping for more high-scoring outputs from these guys as each is extremely fun to watch when they are locked in offensively.
Three Keys to a Nets Victory
1. Make some shots- I know this one is vague but its very simple. The Nets can't win any games if they aren't making their open shots, especially from beyond the three-point arc.
2. Rotate on defense- This has been a major problem for the Nets the whole season as they tend to leave players wide open in perfect shooting positions which lead to easy points. If one Nets sees an open Bobcat, they need to shift over and at least get a hand in the player's face. This is imperative against a poor offensive team like Charlotte as they probably won't make contested shots but leave them open by 5 feet, and like most NBA players, they are going to make the shots given to them.
3. Get Mehmet Okur the ball- Since being traded to New Jersey from the Utah Jazz before this season, Okur has shown he can drain jump shots with the best of them and at some times, has been one of the only Nets to provide any offense whatsoever. Yet, for some reason, he only took 2 shot attempts last night and ended up with 0 points. That is unacceptable and it needs to change by the fellow Nets (I'm looking at you Deron Williams) looking to pass him the ball. If Memo is making shots, it changes our whole offense and makes us that much more explosive.
Prediction
The Bobcats have been straight-up awful recently and the Nets have been looking a little better so I'm gonna say 95-84 in favor of the Nets.
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