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Derrick Favors, who was drafted 3rd overall by the Nets in 2010 and traded a few months later to the Jazz for Deron Williams, returns to face his old team |
When: 7:30 PM; Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES Network
The Nets haven't gotten off to the best of starts this season, sitting at 1-2 after a shocking blowout loss to the Magic, but have a great chance to start a winning streak tonight against the Utah Jazz, who are 0-3 so far. Brooklyn has two very notable former Jazz players among its ranks, as Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko were both 1st-round draft picks of the Jazz and spent six and ten years in Utah respectively.
Of course, Deron left the Jazz in February 2011 when he was sent to the then-New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, a 2011 1st-round draft pick (Enes Kanter), a 2013 1st-around draft pick (Gorgui Dieng, traded with Shabazz Muhammad to Minnesota for Trey Burke), and $3 million cash. D-Will was a star in Utah, averaging around 20 points and 10 assists per game for much of his Jazz tenure but was never able to win the Western Conference and reach the NBA Finals.
Kirilenko, drafted 24th overall in the 1999 Draft, was a mainstay on the Jerry Sloan-led Jazz for a decade, after starting his career in his native Russia. He only made the All-Star team once but probably should have made it more than just in 2004 as he was a premier defender for much of his Jazz tenure.
Kirilenko's last season in Utah was 2010-11, as he returned to CSKA Moscow for the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign and signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves a year later. Then, after a season in Minnesota, Andrei signed with the Brooklyn Nets this summer.
Although the Jazz clearly aren't of the caliber they were when Deron and Kirilenko were on the team, they still have a solid nucleus of players even though Al Jefferson (Bobcats) and Paul Millsap (Hawks) signed elsewhere this past summer.
Their departures hurt the Jazz' frontcourt, which is now anchored by Favors and Kanter, who are both primed to have career seasons as full-time starters. Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, and Trey Burke (9th overall pick in 2013 Draft) are the three other cornerstones of this semi-rebuilding Jazz team under coach Tyrone Corbin that are big scorers for this team. Burke, who broke his finger before the season started, is out for a few more weeks and won't play tonight, but is an incredibly explosive point guard from the University of Michigan.
The rest of the Jazz team, which blew a double-digit halftime lead in a loss to the Rockets on Saturday night, is composed of mostly veterans–like former Net Richard Jefferson, Jamaal Tinsley, and John Lucas III among others–and other players who have yet to find their spot in the NBA, such as Andris Biedrins, Marvin Williams, and rookie Frenchman Rudy Gobert–who was drafted 27th overall in June and traded to the Jazz from Denver.
Probable Lineups
UTA- Jamaal Tinsley (PG), Richard Jefferson (SG), Gordon Hayward (SF), Derrick Favors (PF), Enes Kanter (C)
BKN- Deron Williams (PG), Joe Johnson (SG), Paul Pierce (SF), Kevin Garnett (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
As was true with the Magic game, tonight's matchup with Utah is one that the Nets need to win, as the Jazz aren't an elite NBA team. Sure, they're respectable and have a few players who can put up points in a hurry. However, though, a team of the Nets' caliber has to be able to beat teams like the Jazz in order to establish themselves as a true contender.
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