The Jazz and Nets will face off Saturday night with Utah having a lot more at stake than Brooklyn. With their win over Portland Friday, the Jazz crept back into eighth place in the West, tied with the Lakers but holding the tiebreaker over LA.
Both the Nets and the Nuggets will likely be without key backcourt players Friday night in Denver. Joe Johnson told reporters in Denver that he's doubtful for Friday night's game against the Nuggets and Ty Lawson is out for the Nuggets.
The Nets flew into Denver Thursday morning a giddy group. After the win in Portland, the stat sheet was filled with superlatives and franchise history. Now, they face Denver who is hoping to get back to their winning ways after losing two straight.
Keith Bogans will start again Wednesday night when the Nets face the Blazers. Joe Johnson is out vs. Portland and might not play against the Nuggets or Jazz as well. Nets officials are playing for the playoffs.
Reggie Evans CAN rebound. For all his offensive woes, the 6'8", 245 pound power forward is dominating the NBA's rebounding stats, like no other Net in memory. He is first in rebounding percentage, rebounds per 48 minutes and 20+ rebound games.
"I don't know, man, to be honest with you," said Joe Johnson, when asked about missing the rest of the road trip starting in Portland. The latest nagging injury for J.J. is a right thigh contusion that swelled up after Saturday's Clipper game.
The Nets have never had a winning record on the road, never won 21 games ... ever. In 2005-06, they won 20. Now, they have a chance to. Their next road win will tie that record and with seven games left, they think they can break it.
The Nets play the West's worst team Sunday night in what could be a classic trap game. The Nets are coming off a tough loss Saturday and the Suns were embarrassed Friday and looking for redemption. Brooklyn could be without Joe Johnson.
If someone had told Nets fans last year they would have the most dominating center play in the NBA this season, they would have celebratied, believing Dwight Howard would be a Net. But with the addition of Andray Blatche, the Nets didn't need D12.
Eighteen times since they were drafted back-to-back in the 2005 Draft, Deron Williams and Chris Paul have gone head-to-head. D-WIll has controlled the rivalry, winning 14 times. Can D-Will continue his dominance? Nets hope so.
