Nets (18-18, 10-6 road) @ Bucks (17-20, 10-6 home)

Gametime: 7:30 p.m. central time (FS Wisconsin)

Injuries:

Nets: Devin Harris (hamstring) is questionable.

Bucks: Andrew Bogut (back spasms) and Malik Allen (ribs/back) are day-to-day.

08/09 Series:

None.

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Nets Offense: 12th (108.1 points/100 possessions) Defense:  27th (110.2) Pace:  18th (90.6)

Bucks Offense: 22nd (104.8 points/100 possessions) Defense: 7th (104.2)  Pace:   13th (91.8)

Three Points

• Trade Redux.  The obvious storyline for this game: Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons return to Milwaukee to face the Bucks and former Net Richard Jefferson.  Overall Yi hasn't made much progress in his pivotal second season in the NBA, though he is coming off back-to-back 20 point outings.  Jefferson meanwhile is back to playing a more all-around game, though his scoring efficiency is a bit down (53.0% TS) his PER is actually below average.  While $13.2 million is a lot to pay for RJ's solid play, it sure beats paying Bobby Simmons $10 million for the same poor play we saw last year in Milwaukee.
• Devin's homecoming?  The Nets are a surprising 7th in the East and local boy Devin Harris is the most obvious reason why.  As much as Mark Cuban might try to delude himself into thinking otherwise, Harris has emerged as a star this season with 23.1 ppg and 6.6 apg this season.  Fortunately for the Bucks, Harris has missed two of the last three games with a strained hamstring and is listed as questionable for tonight.
• Brook the rook.  Among the players passed over by the Bucks in lottery was Brook Lopez.  But while Joe Alexander has spent most of his time making funny commercials, Lopez is having an excellent start to his rookie campaign, averaging 10.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 2.0 bpg.

Coverage:

Bucks.com / Nets Daily