Gameday Dish: Nets vs. Jazz
March 30 by Leave a Comment
The 37-36 Utah Jazz have recently surged into the 8th spot in the Western Conference. Tonight they welcome the Brooklyn Nets and PG Deron Williams to The Beehive State.
Williams will surely be greeted with plenty of boos from the boisterous Jazz crowd. The 3X All-Star, who was drafted by Utah with the 3rd overall pick in 2005, will make his second return to Salt Lake City after departing via a turbulent trade on February 23rd, 2011.
At 42-30 Brooklyn occupies the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. With ten games remaining, the Nets have secured a playoff spot for the first time in six seasons.
Tonight’s 48 will be game number 7 of Brooklyn’s grueling 8-game road trip. They are 4-2 after getting annihilated in Denver last night, 109-87.
With starting SG Joe Johnson still out with a quad issue, the Nets starters went a combined 16 of 47 from the field in the loss.
PF Reggie Evans had the best night of any of coach P.J. Carlesimo’s guys, going for 15 points and 16 boards.
The Jazz played last night in Portland where they came away with just their 11th road victory of the season, 105-95. PG Mo Williams led the way with 28 points, 5 dimes and 5 boards in just 29 minutes. This was Utah’s first win away from home after dropping their previous 9 as visitors.
The Jazz and Nets last battled in Brooklyn on December 18th. The Nets raced out to a 13-point halftime lead, but finished the night on the losing end of a 92-90 count. Al Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, while Joe Johnson led the Nets with 21 points.
The Nets are 11-8 in the second half of back-to-back games this season, and Utah is a sturdy 26-9 at home.
Both teams need a W tonight. Utah is barely clinging to the last playoff spot in the West. And Brooklyn must keep winning in order to secure home court for the first round of the postseason. Currently, the Nets are 2 games ahead of Chicago and 2.5 ahead of Atlanta for the 4th seed in the East.
See who’s got the most gas, drive and determination left in their tank heading down the home stretch when Nets vs. Jazz tips off at 9PM ET on YES.
Gameday Dish: Nets vs. Wizards
February 8 by Leave a Comment
This evening the 29-20 Brooklyn Nets come to The Federal City for the second time this season. The Washington Wizards at 13-35 have the NBA’s second worst record.
However, they’ve won their last two contests and are 8-7 since their PG extraordinaire John Wall returned from injury. In addition, this season the Wiz have beaten the Miami Heat and OKC Thunder at the Verizon Center.
On Monday night at home, Washington got the best of a short-handed Clippers squad, 98-90. SF Martell Webster led the team with 21 points, 5 boards and 3 dimes.
Two nights later the resurgent Knicks came to the nation’s capital and left with an L to end their five-game win streak. John Wall led the Wizards with 21 points, 9 dimes and 5 boards. And Trevor Ariza came off the bench to score a season-high 20 points in the 106-96 victory.
When the Nets and Wiz faced off on January 4th the Wizards fought hard, even without John Wall and veteran swingman Ariza. But they eventually fell 115-113 in double OT on a Joe Johnson jumper with .7 seconds left.
Big man Brook Lopez led interim coach P.J. Carlesimo’s team that night with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. In the losing effort rookie SG Bradley Beal, the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 draft, filled up the stat sheet with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Beal is hoping to participate in tonight’s 48 after missing the past five games with a sprained wrist. The 19-year old Beal is 3rd among rookies in scoring with 13.2 ppg and has started 39 of the 41 games he’s played in this season.
Brooklyn picked up a road win on Wednesday in MoTown. All five of the Nets’ starters scored in double figures, and the bench added 24 points, 14 boards, 10 dimes and 6 steals in the 93-90 W over the Pistons.
PG Deron Williams surpassed the 5000-assist mark on Wednesday in his 554th NBA game, becoming the third fastest active player to reach surpass that milestone.
Tune in to the YES Network tonight at 7PM ET to see if Brooklyn can improve on their 11-11 road record and their 15-6 record under Coach Carlesimo.
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