On the Nets: Nets Daily / Nets Are Scorching
2010/2011 NBA Season
vs.
26-41 (17-17 home)
vs.
22-44 (4-27 road)
March 18, 2011
Bradley Center
7:30 PM
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: No Local / NBA LP
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings
PG
Deron Williams
John Salmons
SG
Anthony Morrow
Carlos Delfino
SF
Damion James
Luc Mbah a Moute
PF
Kris Humphries
Andrew Bogut
C
Brook Lopez
(30th) 100.7 - OFFENSE - 102.9 (26th)
(3rd) 102.3 - DEFENSE - 108.8 (18th)
(25th) 89.9 - PACE - 89.7 (26th)
Deron Williams pays his first visit to Milwaukee since the trade that sent him to New Jersey, while the Bucks hope to have Andrew Bogut (migraine) back in the lineup as they look to snap a three game losing streak.
JS: Bogut and Redd practicing
We've reached "must win" time again (did we ever leave?), as the Bucks are still just 2.5 games back of Indiana for the 8th and final playoff spot with just 15 games remaining. Losing against the Nets would seem like the probable end to a serious playoff shot, but I suppose at this point we should know better than to expect anything from the teams vying for the final playoff spot in the East.
On the good news front, Charles Gardner writes that Bogut returned to practice yesterday, which is in line with his usual recovery time from migraines.
"I was throwing up all day yesterday," Bogut said. "It's a disease. If there was a cure for it, I'd pay whatever it took to get it cured.
"It's been four to five a year, sometimes more, sometimes less," Bogut said. "My sister will have three to four a week sometimes. My father actually got them but he'd black out for 20 minutes and then he'd be fine. He wouldn't throw up."
Michael Redd also ratcheted up his rehab to four-on-four, bringing him another step closer to his first game action in over a year. He won't go five-on-five until early next week--knees apparently can't deal with too many guys on the court at once--so my guess is he won't actually see court time until next weekend. I'm not expecting anything from Redd after such a long layoff, but it'll make for a nice/interesting subplot, right?
Deron's new digs. The streaking Nets had won five in a row before their home loss to Chicago on Thursday, which has plenty of people talking about the immediate impact of the deal that brought Williams to New Jersey for a package that included Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, and draft picks. The Nets are now 5-4 since the trade that shocked the world, though it's worth noting that Williams missed two of those wins because of the birth of his son. Either way, that trade still looks fantastic on paper--Melo who?--especially if they can convince him to stick around beyond next season. He'll no doubt be eager to forget the 1/12 night he suffered against Derrick Rose and company on Thursday, but he's still averaging a healthy 16 pts and 14 assists per game as a Net despite struggling mightily with his jump shot.
Big men, small rebounds. We've bemoaned Larry Sanders' lack of physicality on the boards since Vegas, and it was never more evident than on Wednesday when he went reboundless in 17 minutes before fouling out against Dwight Howard. While we were all expecting Sanders to struggle offensively, his inability to make an impact on either end as a rebounder could be the biggest thing standing in the way of his development into a reliable rotation player.
Then again, even Sanders could grab his share of boards against Brook Lopez, who enters Friday's game grabbing just 6.0 boards in over 35 mpg, good for a paltry 10.1% rebound rate. At 7 feet and 265 pounds, Lopez can't cite a lack of size as holding him back, but luckily for the Nets he also averages 20.0 ppg on a respectable 54.5% true shooting, including eight straight with 20+. He also looks to be showing some life on the boards, having grabbed 10+ in three of those contests.