Nets come home to face the Bucks

Welcome home. The circus was in town and the Nets have spent the past month on the road. The trip ended on Saturday night against the Sixers, and the Nets were unable to end the trip on a happy note as Philly ended their 13 game losing streak with a 95-89 victory. The Nets ended the trip with a 3-6 record. Making things worse, Philly has won two games since the end of January. Both of those victories have come against the Nets.

THERE'S ONLY FIVE YEARS WEEKS LEFT.

Coming to Brooklyn will be the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season and are a long ways away from the eighth seed in the East. This is the second night of a back-to-back. They beat the Pelicans in Milwaukee last night.

Where to follow the game

YES on TV, WFAN 101.9 FM on radio. Tip's at eight.

Injuries

Nothing new for the Nets.

O.J. Mayo broke his ankle after he fell down the stairs in his home and will miss the rest of the year due to a fractured ankle. Point guard Michael Carter Williams will also miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. John Henson is dealing with a sore lower back and it's unlikely he plays tonight.

The game

Check it:

The Bucks won the first meeting on November second and the second one on November 14.

Jabari Parker was having a good rookie season last year before he tore his ACL in December 2014 and had to miss the rest of the year. He returned at the end of November 2015 (after a foot injury temporarily derailed things) and has consistently been in the lineup. He's shooting 49 percent on the season and he's most effective inside of 15 feet. He shot in the mid 30s from 15 feet and beyond last year, but is only in the 20s this season.

Greg Monroe had gotten benched a while back, but he was reinserted into the starting lineup recently. His numbers are improved over last year, but the team hasn't been as good as expected. Monroe will have his hands full defending Brook Lopez. Lopez is one of the few scoring options for the Nets and he's managed to excel even with the struggles surrounding him. With the Bucks incredibly thin, getting Monroe in early foul trouble will greatly increase Brooklyn's chances at victory.

A few years ago, there were rumors Gary Payton was going to join the Bucks and work with Giannis Antetokounmpo as an assistant coach. That didn't happen, but it hasn't hurt Giannis and now he's running the point for the Bucks. Since MCW's last appearnace on February 27, Giannis has averaged In a great piece over at Vice, Louis Keene made the following observation:

What's most miraculous about Giannis' torrent of success is that it has come on his own terms. He hasn't had to compromise his talent to fit a role, or truncate his loping strides to get in step with an evolving sport. He simply Does Giannis, and the world adjusts. It makes you wonder if his doomed point-forward forebears might have lived like this, too, if their teams had just given them the ball and gotten the hell out of the way. Or, more practically, it may help us empathize with his less-free contemporaries: can Perry Jones ever be unleashed if his handlers insist that he first learn a trade?

The Nets need to be very careful with the ball tonight. The Bucks are seventh in opponent's turnover rate and Giannis is eleventh in the NBA in transition points.

Player to watch: Khris Middleton

Fresh off of receiving a five year, $70 million contract over the summer, Middleton has gone about showing why it was a smart investment by the Bucks. This season, he's been more involved in the offense and as a result is getting to the free throw line more often and is shooting 40.4 percent from three point range. He's coming off of a pretty great game last night as he scored 19 points, collected ten rebounds, and handed out eight assists. The Minnesota Timberwolves tried to swing a deal for him in exchange for Ricky Rubio, but Milwaukee wisely turned them down. As the Bucks look to bounce back next season, having a player like Middleton on the club will help immensely.

Bojan Bogdanovic got the night off to rest and will be responsible for getting offense on the perimeter. Middleton's offense has been solid, but his defense is really where he shines through. He is usually assigned to the opponent's best perimeter defender and Bogdanovic fits the bill. Like a lot of Nets, Bogdanovic is auditioning for a prominent role on next year's team and is off to a good start. The Nets three point shooting is greatly improved and Bogdanovic has been the main source of that.

From the Vault

We're heading back to MSG and the Big East Championship game from last night. Shout out to Seton Hall, a bunch of kids from Brooklyn and New Jersey.  Can't beat that!

More reading: Brew Hoop

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Milwaukee Bucks Game Notes - Milwaukee Bucks
• Bucks-Nets Preview - Kevin Massoth - STATS LLC
• Nets: Road warriors finally at home - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• Sliding Nets hope home cooking does the trick against Bucks - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Kilpatrick Hungry to Make Nets - Cory Wright - Brooklyn Nets
• Preview: Bucks vs. Nets - Charles F. Gardner - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel