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| Louis Williams, who decimated the Nets constantly during his years with the 76ers, is in Atlanta now. However, Philly has some other weapons who could hurt the perimeter defense-challenged Brooklyn squad |
When: 7:00 pm; Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
TV: YES Network
The Nets are looking to ride their momentum from three straight wins, two against bad teams and one against an elite one, into the City of Brotherly Love tonight against the fading 76ers, who have lost their last three contests and 10 of their last 13 after starting 12-10. Brooklyn beat up the hapless–and defenseless–Sacramento Kings on Saturday night at the Barclays Center to improve to four games above .500. Everything was clicking for the Nets that evening and they even got some production from Mirza Teletovic and MarShon Brooks as C.J. Watson returned from injury. The 76ers weren't as lucky during their Saturday night game against the Spurs.
Running into the juggernaut that is the San Antonio Spurs, who won seven of their last eight games before playing Philly, the 76ers had no shot at beating Tim Duncan and crew down at the AT&T Center, an arena where there are 14-2 on this season. Spencer Hawes led Doug Collins' squad with 22 points on 10-13 shooting but it clearly wasn't enough, as the 76ers as a whole shot only 41.7 percent on the game compared to the Spurs' 48.1 percent mark.
In fact, scoring has been the biggest problem for Philadelphia this season. Coming into tonight sitting at 27th place in the NBA in points per game (with 92.9) and 29th place in points per shot (with 1.11), the 76ers are a team that has definitely missed the bench scoring production that Lou Williams (now in Atlanta) and constant scoring that Andre Iguodala (now in Denver) brought to the team. It also hasn't helped them Andrew Bynum, acquired this summer from the Lakers in the deal that sent Iguodala to the Nuggets and Dwight Howard to the Magic, has been out the whole season with a myriad of knee problems.
Philly was facing all of these issues the first time, and most recent, time that these two teams played each other, a December 23rd meeting in Brooklyn which the Nets won 95-92. Jrue Holiday, who scored 24 points, led four 76ers starters in double-digits on the evening, an effort which just wasn't enough to overcome Brooklyn's starting lineup. All five Nets starters scored 13 points or more that night, and even without Kris Humphries or MarShon Brooks available, the Nets were able to score just enough points to stave off the pesky 76ers, a team that just wouldn't go away.
Probable Lineups
NETS- D-Will (PG), Joe Johnson (SG), Wallace (SF), Evans (PF), Lopez (C)
PHI- Westbrook (PG), Richardson (SG), Turner (SF), Thad Young (PF), Allen (C)
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of good feelings surrounding this team right now and it hopes to keep the good times rolling with a win against a fellow Atlantic Division opponent. As long as the Nets hit shots and play just decent defense, they should be able to extend their winning streak to four games and their record to five games above .500.
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