Nets and Wizards head to Brooklyn

For one night at least, all is right for the Brooklyn Nets. After losing seven straight games, the Nets went into Washington DC and beat the Wizards by 22 points. There are still a variety of issues affecting the team, but a win like that is something to be celebrated.

Night two of the home and home sees the Wizards coming into Brooklyn for the first time this season. Looking ahead a bit, after they play the Sixers on MLK Day, they begin a tough stretch starting with Oklahoma City (and all of the Kevin Durant to DC innuendo you can handle!) on Wednesday. After that one, they go to Portland to start a four game road trip.

Where to follow the game

On television, head to the YES Network. On the radio, tune in to WFAN 101.9 FM. Tip off is set for a bit after 8 PM.

Injuries

Deron Williams might be back soon, but he won't be playing tonight.

Nothing on this front for the Wiz.

The game

What's up? Let's get it

For now at least, the trade talk won't be surrounding the Nets. The team decided against making the big move that initially would have brought Charlotte's Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn. As per usual, watch this space.

Even with the one game suspension, I wouldn't expect to see Kevin Garnett. KG has yet to play a back-to-back this season, and with a few days off before a Western swing, giving him some extra rest could prove to be beneficial.

John Wall will be looking to bounce back. The star point guard only played 30 minutes due to early foul trouble and handed out six assists to go along with his 13 points. Washington has been one of the league's best passing teams, and Wall has been a major part of that. Wall is tied for the league lead in assists at 10.1 per game, and his ability to get to the rim creates a lot of great opportunities for his teammates. On the other side is a person we all thought was set to be traded. Jarrett Jack has been having a pretty rough debut season in Brooklyn, but had his best game as a Net. He handed out a game high seven assists and tied a game high with 26 points.

Even though the Nets miss Paul Pierce, Pierce didn't have a particularly great game last night. He only scored eight points and committed a pretty cheap foul on Bojan Bogdanovic with the game out of reach. This is the fifth game this week for Washington so it's not a surprise to see that PP had a down night after a good set of games against San Antonio and Chicago. Bogdanovic might get some more shot opportunities due to the consistent struggles of Joe Johnson.

Player to watch: Marcin Gortat

Gortat has done a great job at center since the Wiz acquired him right before the start of last season. Gortat had one of his worst games of the year as he was unable to  keep Mason Plumlee off of the glass. He did make three shots inside of the restricted area so it wasn't all bad, but still. The Wiz are going to need a much better game on both sides of the ball from Gortat tonight.

One of the things about Brook Lopez's game this season has been the sharp increase in jump shots taken. He's been taking a lot more shots from 16 feet as compared to near the basket, and as a result, he's getting to the free throw line at a career low rate. That was not the case last night. Brook got to the foul line a season high 12 times and took eight of his 14 field goal attempts near the rim. Brook is a good jump shooting big, but if they can consistently get him the ball in the paint, his game will excel and the team will get closer to respectability. And who knows? If Lopez puts together a great stretch of play before the deadline and the Nets are close to .500, maybe the big guy will get to stick around.

From the Vault

Michael Jordan did a lot of amazing things in his career, and playing all 82 games at age 40 is one of them.

More reading: Bullets Forever

• Brooklyn Nets: Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Washington Wizards Game Notes - Washington Wizards
• Washington at Brooklyn - Yahoo! Sports