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New rotation, opponent aside, Deron Williams says Bobcat game is "must win"

By Net Income
Elsa

The rotation is less of a secret and although Joe Johnson says his heel is "all right", he's likely to face a minutes restriction vs. the Bobcats Wednesday. In fact, P.J. Carlesimo said his biggest concern is making sure Joe Johnson comes back 100 percent from his sore left heel.

But the bottom line, says Deron Williams, this is a must-win game for a team that's lose four of its last five. "We’ve got to have a win tonight ... regardless of who we’re playing or what their record. This is a big game for us as a team," said D-Will.

The "team" right now looks like this: Williams, Johnson, Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace, Reggie Evans, C.J. Watson, Andray Blatche, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks and Mirza Teletovic form the rotation. Left out: Tyshawn Taylor, Tornike Shengelia, Jerry Stackhouse and Kris Humphries?

That's not something P.J. Carlesimo announced at the shootaround in Charlotte, more a matter of deduction. Rod Boone asked him if Brooks is a part of the new 10-man rotation. He responded, "for sure." Since Carlesimo also said Evans was starting again and Teletovic is getting more minutes, it looks like Humphries will sit.

Mike Mazzeo provided some stats that would seem to argue for Hump being seated. While Evans is a 23.1 percent jump shooter (6-for-26) and has made 48.6 percent of his layups, Humphries isn't much better. he's only making 33.3 percent of his jump shots and 40.9 percent of his layups. Moreover, Humphries is 30-for-95 from three-to-16 feet. That's 31.6 percent, a far cry from last season with his elbow jumper was solid.

And unless Teletovic proves to be the answer, the Nets quandary at power forward will remain. As Alex Raskin tweets, Nets power forwards lead NBA in rebounding (15.8), last in scoring (11.8)

Based on tweets by Rod Boone, Tim Bontemps, Mike Mazzeo, Devin Kharpertian

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