When: 7:30 PM EST; Friday, March 27th, 2015
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES
The Nets’ win over the Hornets down in Charlotte on Wednesday was a huge one for Brooklyn, as it won the season series between the two teams–the most important tiebreaker–and helped the Nets stay within a half-game of the No. 8 seed Boston Celtics. Boston, which is playing the Knicks at MSG tonight, holds the tiebreaker and season series over the Nets, but has lost four of five.
But, that win two days ago came at a cost for the Nets, as forward Thaddeus Young suffered a hyperextended left knee in the third quarter and is unavailable to play tonight, and may miss Brooklyn’s meeting with the Lakers this Sunday afternoon. Young has been great for the Nets since coming over in the Kevin Garnett, averaging 13.6 points (on 49 percent shooting) and 5.1 rebounds per 27.7 minutes.
To respond to Thad’s injury, the Nets signed former Louisville star and NBA journeyman Earl Clark to a 10-day contract earlier today. Clark, a New Jersey native, is 6’10” and has spent time with the Suns, Magic, Lakers, Cavaliers and Knicks since being selected 14th overall in the 2009 Draft. Obviously, he’s no savior for Brooklyn, but he’s a big body who can provide some decent play off the bench for the shorthanded nets.
On the other hand, the Cavaliers are playing their best basketball of the season, and are firmly entrenched in the East’s playoff picture as the No. 2 seed. They’ve won four games in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10 games as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love has finally gelled together into the dominant, star-studded team Cleveland envisioned this offseason. To boot, LeBron and the Cavs have already won all three of their meetings with the Nets so far this season. It’s a far cry from last season, in which the Nets swept the Heat–LeBron’s old team–4-0 during the regular season.
Probable Lineups
CLE- Kyrie Irving (PG), J.R. Smith (SG), LeBron James (SF), Kevin Love (PF), Timofey Mozgov (C)
BOS- Deron Williams (PG), Markel Brown (SG), Alan Anderson (SF), Joe Johnson (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
Obviously, the Nets don’t match up well with Cleveland at all, as they don’t really have anyone to guard LeBron or Kevin Love for that matter, especially without Young healthy. Still, as every game is for the Nets at this point in the season, this one is really important and it would be a real boon if Brooklyn could sneak a win in tonight. If this is going to happen, though, I’d imagine Brook Lopez would need to touch the ball on basically every possession. Also, Brooklyn’s perimeter defense has to be near perfect.
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