Game 33 Preview: Milwaukee Bucks (12-18) at Nets (9-23)

THE BROOKIE MONSTER RETURNS TO TOWN!!

Brook Lopez finally makes his long-awaited season debut later tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Prudential Center. Brook, who has missed all of the Nets' 32 games this season, will undoubtedly make an enormous impact on the team and will also give them a very good chance of beating the severely injured Bucks who will probably be missing two important big men to their offense due to injury, center Andrew Bogut and veteran power forward Drew Gooden. For once, the Nets are playing better basketball than their opponent as they are coming off a huge upset win yesterday over the Bulls in Chicago while Milwaukee is in the midst of a 4-game losing streak. I think I'm feeling confident about this game.

Background on Milwaukee

The Milwaukee franchise is in a state of uncertainty right now as star point guard Brandon Jennings has openly talked about leaving the team for a bigger market, veteran guard Stephen Jackson has said he barely has a relationship with coach Scott Skiles, and, oh yeah, that whole "being really bad on the court thing too." Going back even further than their current losing streak, the Bucks have lost seven of their last nine games and it doesn't get any easier for them anytime soon. Without interior cog and franchise center Andrew Bogut due to injury, Milwaukee will have to play seven of their next eight games (not including the Nets) against teams with over-.500 records. If you thought that the Nets were in some trouble, then you should look at the Bucks and really reconsider that statement.

Previous Game
After racing out to a 12-point lead after the 1st quarter on Friday against the Magic, Dwight Howard took over the game as it went along and the Bucks simply had no answer for the All-Star center whose Magic team comes to Newark to take on the Nets this Wednesday. Without Bogut playing for Milwaukee, Howard was able to go nuts for 26 points and 20 boards as he simply dominated the last three quarters of the game.  Orlando was also able to hold the Bucks to a mere 39 points in the 2nd half and simply exhibited its dominance over a team that was clearly lost without its best player. Milwaukee wasn't helped by the lack and of any sort of offensive efficiency from Brandon Jennings who shot 4-for-20 from the field in the game and contributed to his team's dismal 37 percent shooting effort.


In a shocking win over the NBA-leading Chicago Bulls, the Nets ended their 8-game losing streak in a way that no one expected at all. Hearing the news that Brook Lopez wouldn't be playing that day but was to return to the court the next day at home against Milwaukee, it was assumed that the Nets would continue their losing streak and basically mail in the game in Chicago. None of this was the case as Kris Humphries went nuts for 28 points and 14 rebounds while D-Will continued his amazing scoring streak with 29 points along with 8 assists. 

Probable Lineups 

MIL- B. Jennings (PG), Livingston (SG), Delfino (SF), Leuer (PF), Ilyasova (C)

NJN- D.Williams (PG), Brooks (SG), Stevenson (SF), Humphries (PF), Brook Lopez (C)

Three Keys to a Nets Victory

1. Get Brook some early post touches- It's crucial that Brook gets involved in the game offensively early so he can shake off the rust that accumulates when you miss nearly half a season due to injury. I feel that the first possession of the game for New Jersey should involve a pass into Brook on the post to get the team off on the right foot. Without a good shotblocking center like Andrew Bogut to face him up on defense, Brook might be able to have a really productive game, if he is given suitable touches.

2. Contain Brandon Jennings- There is no doubt that Jennings is Milwaukee's most explosive player and that he can put up a lot of points in a hurry. In order to shut down the Bucks' offense and make this a winnable game for the Nets, Jennings can't be allowed to get going on an offensive flow and that can be prevented by double-teaming him. By doing this, he would be effectively contained and would be dared to give his less offensively-talented teammates to pick up the scoring slack.

3. Keep up the rebounding domination from yesterday- This one is simple and will be really helped with Brook's return. The Nets were able to no get outrebounded by one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA yesterday, as they and the Bulls each had 50 team rebounds in the Nets win. By doing that, Chicago didn't get the second-chance shot attempts that the Nets normally give to teams and that limited how many points the Bulls could score. That same rebounding prowess will be needed again tonight because the Bucks won't be able to score in many ways other than with easy second-chance opportunities.

Prediction

I realize that I may be drinking too much Kool-Aid of a 9-23 team that is just coming off a (probable, but hopefully not) fluke win against one of the best teams in the NBA, but I think that the Nets will be energized enough by the return of Brook Lopez to warrant a win over Milwaukee. Nets win, 101-93.