Pretty good. After back-to-back losses to close out October, the Nets opened November with an impressive 109-101 win over the Pistons on Wednesday night. It snapped their two game losing streak and ended Detroit's three game winning streak. After this one ends, the Nets will have a few days off before an NYC back-to-back vs the Wolves and Knicks next week.
Making the trip into Brooklyn will be the Charlotte Hornets. They had a good 2015-2016 campaign and are off to a pretty nice start this season. They last played on Wednesday when they beat the 76ers in Charlotte.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. WFAN 101.9 FM on radio. Tip off after 7:30.
Injuries
Jeremy Lin hurt his hamstring late in the second quarter on Wednesday and didn't return. He was officially ruled out for two weeks yesterday afternoon. Randy Foye was upgraded to probable and all signs point to him making his season debut tonight. Still no word on the availability of Greivis Vasquez.
Jeremy Lamb is out with a hamstring injury. Roy Hibbert missed the game on Wednesday with right knee soreness and won’t play Friday.
The game
It always sucks to lose one of your best players, and it’s even more devastating when it’s early in the year and you’re trying to install a new offense. Kenny Atkinson will face his first real challenge as a coach over the next couple of weeks with Lin out of action. Having Brook Lopez on the inside will make the task a little less daunting for the rookie coach. Lopez outplayed Andre Drummond on Wednesday and scored a season high 34 points in 28 minutes. His minutes per game have inched up each night so don't be surprised if he crosses the 30 minute mark this evening.
On the perimeter, we'll be treated to a quality matchup between Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bojan Bogdanovic. Although BB only took seven shots against the Pistons, they were all from downtown and he made three of them. With Lin gone, he'll have the ball in his hands a bit more. MKG is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, and if he's able to take Bogdanovic out of this game, it'll boost Charlotte's chances of winning immensely.
Player to watch: Kemba Walker
The Hornets need Walker to have a career year in order to keep their offense afloat, and so far, the Bx native has been up to the task. He's averaging 23 points a game, but that's not the most important number for him. Walker is shooting a career best 44 percent from three point range and if he's able to continue to shoot above his career averages from deep, then it will open things up for him and his teammates.
With Lin out, Isiaiah Whitehead will be the starting point guard for the time being. The rookie got a tryout on Wednesday and committed five turnovers in 19 minutes. He'll be facing one of the league's toughest defenses in his first NBA start, and his main objective should be getting Lopez and Bogdanovic. When he heads to the bench, Sean Kilpatrick will have his turn running the offense. Kilpatrick has exceeded expectations ever since he joined the Nets and he'll have to do it again at a new position for the next couple of weeks.
From the Vault
Check out one of Lin’s best games as a Hornet.
More reading: At the Hive
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets Game Notes - Charlotte Hornets
- Hornets vs. Nets Preview - Yahoo! Sports
- Nets' Lin (hamstring) will miss matchup with Hornets - STATS LLC
- Jeremy Lin sidelined at least two weeks by left hamstring injury - Greg Logan - Newsday
- Jeremy Lin out at least 2 weeks: Who will pick up the slack? - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Jeremy Lin Injury Hamstrings Nets - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Jeremy Lin to miss at least 2 weeks with injured hamstring - AP
- Hamstring injury to sideline Nets guard Jeremy Lin - Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN
- Ex-Hornets guard Jeremy Lin to miss Friday’s game with hamstring strain - Rick Bonnell - Charlotte Observer
- Charlotte Hornets: Center Roy Hibbert won’t play Friday against the Nets - Rick Bonnell - Charlotte Observer