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Tonight, Dwight Howard is finally facing the fans that he jilted this summer in going to LA |
When: 7:30 PM; Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES Network/NBA TV
All throughout the summer and 2012 NBA offseason, the prevailing notion was that Dwight Howard of the Magic would end his time in Orlando and be traded north to Brooklyn, to start the new Nets franchise off the right way, with him and Deron Williams at the helm. As we all know by now, that plan completely fell through as the wavering Howard changed his mind on going to the Nets, waiving the Early Termination Clause of his contract, leading to an offseason deal sending him to the Lakers to team up with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash.
Howard made it clear multiple times during his "DwightMare" situation that Brooklyn was his preferred destination, making November 20th's matchup between these teams in LA a pretty awkward, one which ended up counting as a Laker win. Brook Lopez, widely thrown into Howard trade rumors for years now, scored 23 points in that one to go with D-Will (22 points) as Brooklyn's high-scorers. However, the Laker big three of Howard (23 points, 15 boards), Gasol (17 points, 11 boards, seven dimes), and Kobe (25 points) was too much for the Nets to handle, even with Steve Nash out due to injury.
Probable Lineups
LAL- Nash (PG), Bryant (SG), Jamison (SF), Clark (PF), Gasol (C)
BKN- D-Will (PG), Johnson (SG), Wallace (SF), Evans (PF), Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
With Metta World Peace (who had 17 points in the last meeting with these teams) out due to suspension and Dwight Howard out due to a shoulder injury, the uber-talented Lakers are a bit hobbled tonight but still dangerous nonetheless. Kobe can score tons of points anytime he wants, so Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace are going to have to shut him down if the Nets have any hope of ending their nine-game losing streak at the hands of Los Angeles.
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