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If the Nets win Saturday afternoon, they return to Brooklyn with a 2-2 record and a chance to win their first round series at Barclays Center. If they lose, they return to Brooklyn down 3-1 and face the potential embarrassment of losing their first playoff series on their homecourt.
In other words, in the short history of the Brooklyn Nets, there has been no bigger game.
With the Nets offense struggling (and that's being kind), there's pressure on P.J. Carlesimo to make adjustments in his rotation. He says he may change the allocation of minutes, perhaps reduce the number of minutes Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace play together, but don't expect an overhaul this late in the game.
"We’re not going to change the starting lineup," Carlesimo told writers. "If we’re struggling offensively then we need to address that. If changing the lineup or changing who we put on the floor helps us to score points then we’re going to have to do that. …It’s a tough balance because some of the problems we have is not because those guys (Gerald Wallace and Reggie Evans) are not scoring. If we do some of the things that we normally do – if we make some threes, if we finish in the paint, then we’re okay and we can take advantage of other guys skill sets."
But the Bulls seemed to have solved the Nets, disrupting the offense, doubling Deron Williams and letting Evans and Wallace do what they want on offense.
'After Game 1, they're definitely keying on me,'' D-Will said. ''It's tough for me as a point guard. I don't want to go out there and just shoot 20 bad shots. But pretty much every shot I'm going to take is going to be contested (with) two people around me, three people around me. I just have to find ways to be more aggressive and get to the basket, but it's tough right now.'' It is indeed.
And it turns out that Gerald Wallace isn't the only Net to express frustration with the way things are going. MarShon Brooks told Newsday of his.
"It seems like I'm the last resort, honestly.... If things aren't going well for the team, throw MarShon out there. That's been the rhythm all year. I kind of know when my name is going to be called, in a sense."
- Brooklyn Nets Post-Season Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
- Chicago Bulls Post-Season Game Notes - Chicago Bulls
- Nets at Bulls - April 27, 2013 - Andrew Seligman - AP
- Frustration setting in for the Brooklyn Nets - Jeff Zillgitt - USA Today
- Boozer A Constant In Bulls’ Painful Season, 2-1 Lead Vs. Nets - Steve Aschburner - NBA.com
- Nets need to solve offensive woes in Game 4 - Rod Boone - Newsday
- MarShon Brooks feels like 'the last resort' for Nets - Mark Herrmann - Newsday
- Nets: Just win, baby - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Focused on Scoring Threats, Bulls Play Nets 5 on 3 - Beckley Mason - New York Times
- Nets Can't Buy a Bucket - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- W2W4: Nets at Bulls, Game 4 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Wallace, Evans not helping Nets even score - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Three adjustments Nets could make for Game 4 vs. Bulls - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- P.J. in ‘must-win’ situation for job - George Willis - New York Post
- After two good games for Nets, C.J. Watson sputters - Sean Jensen - Chicago Sun-Times
- Gerald Wallace expresses frustration over playing time - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
- 2013 NBA playoffs - Scouting four playoff first-timers - Amin Elhassan - ESPN Insider
- Thibs: Jo didn't suffer any setbacks - Nick Friedell - ESPN Chicago
- Mental rehab key part of Rose's process - Melissa Isaacson - ESPN Chicago
- Playoff Coaching In The Crosshairs (Video) - Henry Abbott, David Thorpe & Marc Stein - ESPN