Watch Live: Brooklyn Nets at Phoenix Suns, 10:00 PM EST on TNT

The Brooklyn Nets have hit a rough patch. They’ve lost three games in a row and have fallen to 4th place in the East, five games behind the Boston Celtics.

On Thursday night they get the TNT spotlight as they visit the Phoenix Suns, a team also sitting on a 3-game losing streak.

Brooklyn is still without Kevin Durant, but they will get Kyrie Irving back in the lineup (we hope).

With the Celtics riding a 7-game win streak the Nets picked a bad time to stumble into a 3-game losing streak. But here we are; in dire need of a win.

WHO: Brooklyn Nets (27-16) at Phoenix Suns (21-24)

WHEN: 10:00 p.m. est

WHERE: TNT (national), WFAN-FM (radio)

Game preview.

Since Booker’s re-injury on Christmas Day, Mikal Bridges has had to take on a lot more responsibility. In those games, he’s been averaging around 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes a night on .446/.404/.927 shooting splits. He’s not someone you think of as being one of the team leaders in usage, but now that Johnson is back and Paul is closer to full strength, things might fall back into its natural order.

Back-to-backs are incredibly tough. Back to back games on the West Coast with a trip to Utah after this one is tough sledding. We’ll see how Jacque Vaughn goes about managing minutes tonight and what players appear off the bench.

Cam Thomas got some playing time and did something the Nets don’t do nearly enough. Thomas attacked the basket a ton and helped get the Nets back into the game when they were sleepwalking through the early part of it. Brooklyn only drives to the basket 39 times a game, fourth worst mark in the NBA. They tend to settle more than they should and they don’t force the issue enough, especially on nights they don’t have it going from deep. With this being the front half of the back-to-back, Thomas ought to get some minutes tonight.

For more on the Suns, check out Bright Side of the Sun.