Will this be a showdown between two of the NBA's top rookies? Could be if MarShon Brooks, a game time decision again, can get beyond the pain in his Achilles tendon. Kyrie Irving is the only rookie scoring better than Brooks, 16.8 to 15.2, but Irving is also averaging 4.9 assists.

More importantly, can the Nets put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season? They've got a chance, having showed recently they're getting better, winning four of their last eight and three of their last five, despite injuries. The Nets are also into their new motto, "I love it", which basically translates to we can deal with whatever adversity is thrown at us. Deron Williams, who coined the term, is, of course, coming up his 34-and-11 game, with dagger, in Philly. D-Will and LeBron James are the only two NBA players with multiple 30-point, 10-assist games this season.

The Cavaliers' last game was a win over the spiraling Knicks. That broke a four-game losing streak. Where the Cavs have excelled lately is on defense, holding the Knicks to 85 and before that, holding the Heat to 92. In another fun matchup, Anderson Varejao and Kris Humphries will face off. They rank fifth and seventh in the NBA in rebounding.

• New Jersey Nets Game Notes - New Jersey Nets
• New Jersey Nets Game Notes - Cleveland Cavaliers
• Getting Inside - New Jersey Nets - Sports Xchange
• Getting Inside - Cleveland Cavaliers - Sports Xchange
• Nets-Cavaliers Preview - Noey Kupchan - Stats LLC
• Deron has Nets believing - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• Nets and Deron Williams ready to move home from Prudential Center to Barclays Center - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Nets’ task: Build on mojo - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Looking back at Nets-76ers - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Alonzo Gee is scoring points with his defense for the Cleveland Cavaliers - Tom Reed - Cleveland Plain-Dealer