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Tuesday night’s loss to the Pistons was sort of my fault. I had called out that “trap game” - you never call out the trap game - and somewhat dismissed the Pistons and called this an opportunity to show up on the defensive end against one of the league’s worst teams.
The Pistons put up a season-best 122 points (in regulation) against the Nets. Sorry.
Wednesday night the Nets turn their attention toward the Indiana Pacers. A very good team - but, I’ll leave it at that.
Reminder: the game starts at 8:00pm EST tonight - not 7:30pm EST. And the Nets will be celebrating Lunar New Year at Barclays.
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WHO: Brooklyn Nets (14-12) vs. Indiana Pacers (12-12)
WHEN: 8:00 PM EST
WHERE: YES (tv), WFAN (radio)
Player to watch: Myles Turner
Quiet as it’s kept, the 2015 NBA Draft was better than most. Turner was taken 11th that year and has been a solid player for the Pacers ever since. He’s currently campaigning for Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s making a pretty good case. He leads the league in blocks and is holding opponents to only 39.5 percent shooting when he’s defending them according to NBA.com. The offensive numbers are close to what they usually are, but the feel of his game is a lot different. Mark Schindler of Indy Cornrows has more on Turner’s development.
Self awareness is key. After the loss last night, DeAndre Jordan mentioned that he and his teammates have to have a sense of urgency on defense, and it’s true. Opponents have lived in the paint against the Nets this season and all of the Brooklyn bigs will need to step up. Noah Vonleh made his team debut last night and Nash will need to get him up to speed quickly. The Nets need their big guys to be on top of their games and the more acclimated he and Norvel Pelle get, the better the Nets defense will become.
For more on the Pacers, check out Indy Cornrows.