When: 7:30 PM EST; Friday, March 20th, 2015
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES
Back-to-back wins over the hapless 76ers and Timberwolves were much-needed for the struggling Nets, who had lost five consecutive games before heading to Philadelphia and Minneapolis. However, as it always does with this team, that good feeling immediately evaporated Wednesday night as the Nets got stomped by LeBron and the Cavaliers in Cleveland 117-92.
Brooklyn got off to a good start–holding a 22-10 lead in the first quarter–before feeling the true wrath of a Cleveland team coming off a brutal loss in Miami to the Heat a few days earlier. Still, the setback didn’t hurt Brooklyn too much in the standings as the Nets are just 2.5 games out of the No. 8 seed with 16 games to play. Crazier things have happened.
For the Nets, then, welcoming the Bucks and coach Jason Kidd to Brooklyn isn’t the worst thing. Milwaukee, which has struggled mightily since the All-Star break and its trade of Brandon Knight to the Suns and subsequent acquisition of Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee (yes, another twins battle). The Bucks are losers of nine road games in a row and have gone just 3-11 since a February 20th win over the Nuggets, so it’s fair to say they’ve been going through a rough patch.
It’s not like the 27-39 Nets have been exactly lighting it up, especially not at the Barclays Center, though. Brooklyn is riding a four-game home losing streak and has lost six of its last eight games. That’s why the Nets are suddenly 12 games under .500 and struggling to stay in playoff contention. But, with a win tonight, they can improve their chances a lot.
Probable Lineups
MIL- Michael Carter-Williams (PG), Khris Middleton (SG), Giannis Antetokounmpo (SF), Ersan Ilyasova (PF), Zaza Pachulia (C)
BKN- Deron Williams (PG), Markel Brown (SG), Joe Johnson (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
With all the teams ahead of them in the fight for the final playoff spots–Boston, Charlotte, Miami and Indiana–in action tonight, Brooklyn can make up some ground with a victory and some losses from the Celtics, Hornets and other teams of that ilk. Also, they be dealt a huge blow to their chances with a loss and subsequent win by those teams. They just need to take care of their own business.
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