Live Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors, 6:00 PM EST

Well, the Brooklyn Nets aren’t a very good basketball team at the moment. Winners of just 3 of their last 10 games, the Nets just have been pretty awful as of late.

But, good news.

Caris LeVert is back. He’ll suit up, finally, on Saturday night against the defending champs Toronto Raptors. The Nets absolutely need him back, no question about it. We don’t yet know how Kenny Atkinson will weave him into the rotation, but at this point any minutes will be helpful minutes.

WHO: Brooklyn Nets (16-17) vs. Toronto Raptors (23-12)

WHEN: 6:00 PM EST

WHERE: YES Network (tv), WCBS 880am (radio), Barclays Center (live)

Game Preview

Toronto won the first meeting in December.

LeVert is back, and the Nets are going to need him firing on all cylinders ASAP. Prior to the injury, LeVert had been struggling with his turnovers, so now that he’s back, that’s a part of his game that will need to improve if the Nets want to get back on track.

He’ll have plenty of opportunities to run the offense as Brooklyn is in desperate need of someone else to carry the load. Going into the year, I thought LeVert had an outside chance of playing himself into the All Star Game. Obviously that won’t happen, but he still has a chance to salvage his season and get the Nets back on the right track.

For more on the Raptors, check out Raptors HQ.

Brooklyn, for a team who allows over 110 points per game, is pretty good at forcing bad shots. Opponents are shooting just .433 percent from the floor against them on the year. The problem is, they don’t generate turnovers; they just allow the opposing team to keep their possessions, resulting in a league worst 94.2 FGA allowed per game. This is good news for a Raptors team that has struggled to generate shots over the last week.

Expect the Raptors backcourt to take a lot of shots tonight. They may not always be efficient or great looks, but they’ll get them at least. I also expect a nice game from Serge Ibaka, whose been carrying more of the offensive load the last few games in an effort to relieve some pressure off of Lowry and VanVleet. DeAndre Jordan’s slow feet should allow Ibaka to take advantage on a couple nice post-ups.