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Deron will be playing the 1st Nets playoff game of his career tonight. Hopefully he plays many more |
When: 8:00 PM; Saturday, April 20th, 2013
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
TV: YES Network/ESPN
There are a lot of reasons for the Nets to be excited for tonight's game vs the Bulls, for obvious reasons. For players like Brook Lopez and MarShon Brooks, it's their 1st-ever playoff game. For Deron Williams, it's a chance to prove–on a national stage–that he's still the elite point guard that he was for his tenure in Utah with the Jazz. For Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Bogans, it's the opportunity to show that they are the furthest thing from washed-up and can still contribute significantly to any NBA team.
With all that said, it's easy for Brooklyn to be over-hyped and play too nervous to be effective against a hardened team like the Bulls under a hardened coach like Tom Thibodeau. But the key for winning tonight will be staying calm, and playing like the Nets that won 49 games this season. If they can do that, and of course hit their shots and play good defense, especially on Deng, than they should be able to take the upper hand in the 1st game of this series.
Probable Lineups
CHI- Hinrich (PG), Butler (SG), Deng (SF), Boozer (PF), Mohammed (C)
BKN- Williams (PG), Johnson (SG), Wallace (SF), Evans (PF), Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
It's gonna be fun, really fun. Two tough teams with a lot of talent on both sides. The Barclays Center is going to be awesome, especially with the actual playoff atmosphere and eerie sight of basically the entire arena wearing those intimidating black playoff shirts being given to the fans by the Nets. About time we are able to see this team succeed, even if success this 1st season is just home-court advantage in the postseason's opening round.
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