|
What does this picture have to to with the game? Nothing, that's what! Pip-pip, cheerio!
Well well well....we meet again.
But, this time, things are supposed to be different. After they beat us in overtime, they had a 5 game skid. Nevertheless, this stat should be taken with a grain of salt, as their 4 opponents during that stretch were Boston (x2), Portland, New Orleans, and San Antonio. Even though it was a hard stretch, the team went through a bit of drama as Lawrence Frank benched the entire starting lineup for the rest of the game vs. Boston after a terrible first half. They came back with a win vs. the recently coach-changed Memphis Grizzlies, but it remains to be seen if the Nets can truely return back to prominence. Well, not nessessarily prominence, but rather the 6th or 7th seed in the East that they seem to have been glued to for the past 5 years.
Matchups:
C- Brook Lopez vs. Nick Collison
Brook Lopez is somewhat of an anomoly. One game, he'll explode for something like 20 Points, 8 Rebounds, and 5 Blocks, but the next game, he'll settle for something like 8 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 1 Block. This can usually be explained by the caliber of center he was facing, or written off because he's still just a rookie. Reguardless, expect Nick Collison to have his hands full with Lopez tonight, and don't expect much from Collison on the offensive end. I'd expect most of Lopez's points to come when Krstic is on the floor.
PF- Ryan Anderson vs. Kevin Durant
Undoubtedly Durant will have the better game, but Ryan Anderson is more of a true Power Forward, so he might be able to take advantage of Durant inside.
SF- Bobby Simmons vs. Jeff Green
This is where the Thunder should really exploit the Nets. Bobby Simmons is mostly a scoring forward and is arguably the weak point in the Nets lineup. He should score a lot of points, but Jeff Green should be able to have his way with him. However, Bobby Simmons will be slighty more motivated tonight because he's been involed in a trade rumour involving him being traded to Chicago for Larry Hughes, so that's something to watch for.
SG- Vince Carter vs. Desmond Mason
Sorry D-Mase. If this were an Over-30 Dunk contest, you'd have a chance, but Vince Carter is far better of a player. Everyone knows who Vince Carter is and what he does, so there's not much to put here. Tally-ho!
PG- Devin Harris vs. Russell Westbrook
This is the matchup to watch for. At first glance, they are both similar players. Young combo guards who have an affinity for passing, driving inside, and scoring. But at second glance, they are in different molds. Devin Harris is more of a Monta Ellis type player. Very quick, able to drive to the basket and get lots of And-1s, but his jumper is very shaky. Russell Westbrook is more of a complete player. He's an excellent rebounder (for a guard), and he is developing a deadly outside shot. Who is better is simply a matter of opinion, and it will be lots of fun watching these guys go at it.
Bench Play-
The Nets most notable bench player (for me anyway) is NBA Journeyman and straight up hustla, Eduardo Najera. He played 4 years for OU back in the 90s, and I've been a faithful follower of his NBA career ever since. The Warriors made me fall in love with the NBA, but it was Najeras Sooners that made me fall in love with college basketball. He's mainly out there to give it all he's got for a short time, and could be a nice defender against Green and Durant off the bench. Other than him, Magic outcast Keyon Dooling is a nice shooter. Jarvis Hayes is an excellent veteran backup forward, who specializes in rebounding. Josh Boone is an average center who can't shoot freethrows worth a damn. I really know nothing about their 9th man, Chris Douglas-Roberts, but I hate combined last names, and he can't be all that good. On the Thunder side of things, expect Kyle Weaver to get a lot of minutes attempting to guard Vince Carter, and expect Nenad Krstic to have a nice offensive game, because he can draw Brook Lopez outside of the paint.
Coaching and Intangibles-
There might be a bit of chaos on the Nets side of things, so the Thunder have the upper hand in terms of stability. The Thunder have had a nice run of things recently, but they have also had a couple of sloppy games vs the Heat and Clippers, so who knows which team we'll see tonight. It's the first home game in a week, so I'd expect the good team to show.
Prediction: Thunder 96, Nets 84
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. Here are some of our high-priority areas that we're specifically looking to grow. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 