When: December 8, 2015; 6:30 PM EST
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES Network
Radio: CBS 880 AM
After back-to-back blowout losses over, one to the Knicks and one to the undefeated Warriors, the Brooklyn Nets look to get their sixth win of the season tonight at home against the Houston Rockets, against whom Brooklyn won its first game back on November 11th down in Texas.
However, the Nets will be without standout rookie forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who went down with a fractured ankle which was announced yesterday and will cause him to miss an indefinite period of time. Bojan Bogdanovic, who scored 22 points in the Nets’ win over the Rockets, will take Hollis-Jefferson’s place in the starting lineup. Expect Markel Brown, who played some in the last two games after almost two weeks of DNP-CD’s, to get more time off the bench.
The Nets weren’t competitive for any of the Knicks game, as they had no answer for New York’s outside shooters in one of Brooklyn’s worst efforts of the year. Against the Warriors, though, Lionel Hollins’ team played well for most of three quarters before fading away quickly late in the second half en route to a double-digit loss. It was a good performance overall, but an incomplete one for Brooklyn.
Houston, on the other hand, has won three games in a row and is actually looking like a cohesive unit under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff. James Harden has started to back into his scoring groove while the return of Dwight Howard and Donatas Motiejunas from injury absences has deepened the rotation.
Probable lineups
HOU- Patrick Beverley (PG), James Harden (SG), Trevor Ariza (SF), Clint Capela (PF), Dwight Howard (C)
BKN- Jarrett Jack (PG), Bojan Bogdanovic (SG), Joe Johnson (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final thoughts
The Nets were able to catch the Rockets at their lowest point back in November and did well to steal a road win from them. But, Houston is playing better basketball now and is showing signs of the title contender that most people thought they would be this season. Not going to be easy for Brooklyn, even at home, without Rondae.
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