When: 7:00 PM EST; Monday, April 27th, 2015
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: NBATV/my9
In their Game 3 win over the Hawks at home, the Nets were far from perfect, but did just enough–with requisite luck–to cut their series deficit to 2-1 with a vital Game 4 tonight.
Brooklyn shot under 40 percent from the field and under 32 percent from three, committed 15 turnovers and were outscored by 20 paint points and 23 fastbreak points. However, Atlanta’s even worse shooting and the Hawks’ inability to get Kyle Korver open at all allowed the Nets to sneak by even with a flawed performance. Don’t expect a similar occurrence on Monday at Barclays.
Granted, much of Atlanta’s shooting issues could be related to dumb luck but don’t take all the credit away from Brooklyn, which clearly designed and executed a gameplan focused on shutting Korver–one of the NBA’s top shooters–down, which it did. The question is whether the Nets can do the same tonight, even as the Hawks undoubtedly adjust their offense. Korver is a key component of Atlanta’s attack but if he can’t do much tonight, and guys like Mike Scott and Dennis Schroder step up, it won’t matter.
That’s why it’s crucial for the Nets to lock down on all of Atlanta’s shooters, regardless of their prestige. Scott, Schroder, Pero Antic, DeMarre Carroll, etc can all be easy to lose track of but they can kill teams from the perimeter and can completely the course of a game. That happened, to a certain extend, in Games 1 and 2 but did not in Game 3, which is a big reason as to why the Nets were able to win.
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
This game won’t hinge completely on the Nets’ defense, though, as Brooklyn really needs to make some shots at a somewhat-efficient clip for once in this series. Deron Williams (tailbone) has been highly ineffective thus far, possibly due to injury, but if he can just make a few of the open jumpers he gets every night and if Bojan Bogdanovic and Mirza Teletovic can serve as threats from deep, Brooklyn has a real shot. Oh, and the Nets need to make sure Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson and Thaddeus Young get their share of touches in the post.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
