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| After missing the first two games after his trade to Brooklyn because of food poisoning, Thornton should be ready for Wednesday's tilt with the Blazers |
In Sunday night's win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets were without three of their key players: Kevin Garnett (rest), Shaun Livingston (tailbone), and Marcus Thornton (food poisoning). Still, in a milestone game–Jason Collins' debut as an openly gay NBA player–the Nets were able to hold off a badly-injured Lakers team missing Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and a host of other players.
However, Brooklyn has a tough back-to-back coming up on Wednesday and Thursday, as they head to Portland and then to Denver to play the Northwest Division's Blazers and Nuggets respectively. Portland, under Terry Stotts, is having an amazing season, and is currently 3rd in the tough Western Conference. Meanwhile, Denver, with rookie head coach Brian Shaw, is having a rough go of it, as injuries to Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, and Nate Robinson have handicapped the Nuggets severely, leaving them six games under .500 and out of the playoff fold as of right now.
We know the Blazers are a harsh opponent, as attested by their record and drubbing of the Nets in Brooklyn earlier this year. Even though Denver's record might not show it, the Nuggets still have a lot of talent and athleticism, two things that don't necessary jive well with the Nets. That means this team is going to need as many of its important guys as possible if its going to take both of these games or just even one.
The good news is that after a two-day break, Garnett is likely to return to the mix later tonight against the Blazers. Most likely, if he goes against Portland, he'll sit out Thursday's meeting with the Nuggets because of his normal rest schedule, but anything is possible. Thornton, after contracting food poisoning from, of all things, lobster mac and cheese he ate in San Francisco, is likely to play tonight while Livingston, who hurt his tailbone in Saturday's loss to Golden State, also probably will play against the Blazers, at least according to Lenn Robbins.
If all three of those guys can go, and noone else becomes unavailable tomorrow, then the Nets–sans Brook Lopez of course–will be at full strength for their playoff push for the first time. The new additions, Collins and Thornton, have yet to play with each other, but it'll be interesting to see how their contributions to the Nets are when they take the floor in about 22 hours.
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