Game 46 Preview: New Orleans Hornets (10-34) at Nets (15-30)

I'm excited for Gerald Wallace's Nets debut; I've always admired his tenacious play from afar  

The new-look Nets will nearly be whole tonight for the first time as recent trade acquisition Gerald Wallace will make his debut with the team at the Prudential Center against the hapless New Orleans Hornets. Deron Williams (calf) and Jordan Farmar (groin) are expected to return from injuries as well but center Brook Lopez is still out. I'm excited to see what Wallace can do with an elite point guard giving him the ball and hopefully the two can mesh together fast and well. 

Background on New Orleans

Like the Nets have for most of this season, the Hornets are being bitten by the injur bug as many of their best players won't play tonight and haven't played for awhile; guys like Eric Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Carl Landry among others. Just because New Orleans is extremely short-handed and only has 10 wins on this season doesn't mean that this is a cakewalk win for the Nets, rather its the opposite. The Hornets have proven that they can beat good teams (Dallas, Minnesota, Utah, Orlando, Denver just to name a few) so the Nets better not let their guard down, cause doing so would lead to a loss.

Previous Game

The Hornets had no answer for the Wizards' John Wall on Thursday night as they lost to Washington by the score of 99-89, extending the Hornets' losing streak to three games. Chris Kaman, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the preseason trade sending Chris Paul from New Orleans to LA, showed flashes of his former self with 20 points and seven rebounds on 9-15 shooting. Kaman was the subject of multiple trade rumors but obviously didn't let those affect him in the game. Gustavo Ayon, a rookie from Mexico. added 16 points and nine boards for New Orleans in the losing effort.


To the surprise of no one, the Nets, sans D-Will, Gerald Wallace, and Brook Lopez (sure, you can put Dwight Howard thee too), got blown out by the Orlando Magic at an Amway Arena energized by the news that Howard would be staying in central Florida another season. New Jersey only scored 70 points and couldn't seem to muster anything on offense. Gerald Green was the only Net who was able to actually hit some shots and scored 14 points on 6-9 shooting. Howard led the Magic with 18 points to go along with six rebounds.

Probable Lineups 

NOR- Jack (PG), Belinelli (SG), Ariza (SF), Ayon (PF), Kaman (C)

NJN- D.Williams (PG), Brooks (SG), Wallace (SF), Humphries (PF), She. Williams (C)

Three Keys to a Nets Victory

1. Get Gerald (Wallace) the ball early- This one is kinda obvious. It makes sense for the Nets to involve their new acquisition in the offensive end as soon as the game starts to try to acclimate him to the team's system.

2. Clean up the boards- As always, rebounds are crucial for the Nets to control in order to win games. The Hornets have some players that can easily get double-figures in boards (Ayon, Kaman, Ariza) but the Nets will have to prevent that from happening in order to win their 16th game of the season.

3. Hump needs to right the ship- Hump has been in a little funk of late and I think it's fair to say that playing Dwight Howard had something to do with that. He has a much easier matchup tonight in wither Kaman or Ayon and Kris should be able to get some open shots to improve his recently-challenged confidence. 

Prediction

The Hornets aren't very good but then again the Nets haven't proven they are even good themselves. Regardless, I think the new-look New Jersey will be able to pull through with a win tonight behind strong play from newcomer Gerald Wallace. 99-85 Nets.