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| Joe Johnson has missed the Nets' last two games with an ankle injury and might miss tonight's as well. As shown in the recent losses to the Rockets and Grizzlies, this team needs him on the court badly |
When: 8:00 PM: Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Where: New Orleeans Arena; New Orleans, LA
TV: YES Network
It's a brotherly battle tonight in the Big Easy as Brook Lopez and the Nets take on Brook's twin brother Robin and the Hornets. Brooklyn looks to rebound from a pair of back-to-back tough home losses vs the Rockets and Grizzlies over the weekend in which they didn't have the services of Joe Johnson (ankle) for either contest. The absence clearly hurt the Nets' offensive attack as they averaged just 84 points per game in the two that Joe missed.
Joe is doubtful for tonight's game, so it it certain to be another grind-out, hard-fought game for the Nets without one of their better players, even against a lottery-bound team like New Orleans. Even with their terrible record (20-37), the Hornets are a dangerous squad, with prolific scorers like Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, a solid point guard in Greivis Vasquez, and a stud rookie big-man in Anthony Davis all present on their roster. A diversified scoring, passing, and rebounding attack like that provides a big problem for the perimeter-defense-challenged Nets. Guys like Gordon and Anderson can be deadly from behind-the-arc and as we have seen so far this season, Brooklyn has been killed by deadly shooters, such as James Harden and Brandon Jennings to name a few.
Probable Lineups
BKN- Williams (PG), Watson (SG), Wallace (SF), Evans (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
NOH- Vasquez (PG), Gordon (SG), Aminu (SF), Anthony Davis (PF), Robin Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
Brook and Robin are facing off for the first time since Robin was on the Phoenix Suns last season so expect high intensity from the brothers, hopefully resulting in a great brotherly matchup. Also, without Joe Johnson (probably), the Nets will be short-handed on both offense and defense, missing Joe's scoring and size. That'll make it tough against a New Orleans team that is much, much better than its record would allude to. Not a given this two-game losing streak ends in the Big Easy tonight.
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