When: 3:00 PM EST; Saturday, April 25th, 2015
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: TNT/YES
Missing a golden opportunity to steal a win on the road, and therefore snag homecourt advantage, the Nets lost 96-91 to the Hawks in Atlanta on Wednesday, falling behind 2-0 in their opening round series of the playoffs.
Like in Game 1, Brooklyn stuck with the No. 1 Hawks for much of the way and had multiple chances to take the lead, or even tie the score and possibly send the game to overtime, but, in the end, the Nets just couldn’t get the right shots to fall at the right time as the series shifts up north to Brooklyn for a Saturday matinee.
Prior to the start of the series, not many people gave the Nets a chance in it as they were going up against one of the NBA’s top teams from the 2014-15 season. But, once precept that was agreed on was in order for Brooklyn to have a chance to steal an entry into the second round, it would need to win one of the series’ first two games in Atlanta.
Clearly, the Nets didn’t do that, so in order to maintain the status quo–having the ability to get homecourt with one win on the road–they need to win the next two games, both of which are at Barclays. The Nets haven’t been a great home team all season but improved slightly down the stretch, thanks to a six-game winning streak on their home floor bridging March and April. This stretch helped them make the playoffs as well as building some momentum amongst the Brooklyn faithful.
This doesn’t change the fact that, with setting notwithstanding, the Nets need to play a damn-near perfect game today against a team that doesn’t make all too many mistakes. They weren’t able to do that on a 94-foot by 50-foot court in Atlanta so they need to turn things around and put it together on a same-sized court in Brooklyn. Between the lines on game day, nothing else matters besides what each of the two teams put forth.
Probable Lineups
ATL- Jeff Teague (PG), Kyle Korver (SG), DeMarre Carroll (SF), Paul Millsap (PF), Al Horford (C)
BKN- Deron Williams (PG), Bojan Bogdanovic (SG), Joe Johnson (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
I outlined my four keys to Game 3 yesterday but of them, I think the Nets limiting their turnovers is the most important. Brooklyn has committed 16 or more of them in both Game 1 and Game 2, which has resulted in a ton of Hawks’ fastbreak points as well as significantly less field goal attempts for the Nets. Simply looking at percentage, five or seven more shots should be able to get Brooklyn four or more additional points, which–in five- and seven-point games–can completely change the dynamic.
Plus, when a team cuts down on its turnovers, it means its offense is in-sync and working well to get open, good shots. Time for the Nets to buckle down and play like the team of veterans who have been in the postseason that it is.
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