NBA Match Preview – New Jersey Nets vs. Atlanta Hawks
A fortnight has passed since the New Jersey Nets hosted the Atlanta Hawks at the Prudential Centre, New Jersey. Now it is the Hawks’ turn to play the hosts. Tuesday night meeting at the Philips Arena, Hawks host the Nets for the
latter’s opening match this week.
Literally, at the bottom, the Nets are trailing the Eastern Conference standings by 6-15. Having played two home and two away matches last week, the Nets finished off the week with no wins to their name. Standing at a 4-6 mark
at home, the Nets’ road score is truly a disappointing 2-9.
The Nets are at a seven game losing streak on the road. Given their recent performance, the Nets may very well be looking at their eighth straight loss on the road tonight. Their latest defeat on the road came Friday when they
met the Charlotte Bobcats. Meeting at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the Bobcats defeated the Nets by a close margin of seven points (91-84).
Overlooking their losing streak on the road, the Nets are also at a four game losing streak having won no matches last week. Their latest defeat in the season came on Sunday when they met the Boston Celtics. The registered their
lowest points tally in the season after losing the match the match by 25 points. Celtics left the Nets with a 100-75 victory.
Centre, Brooke Lopez and Point Guard Devin Harris registered a combined average of 35.8 points in the season, yet they were only 12 points against the Celtics. The pair, however, did a total of 59 points against the Hawks last
month. Maybe their partnership could save the Nets from worsening their losing streak.
Coming off from a disappointing week, the Nets hit practice on Monday. Harris believes his team is ready to turn things around on Tuesday. Harris is reported to have said, "It was a good, physical practice for us and a good
way to start the road trip,"
The Hawks, on the other hand, hit a good form last week. Hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, the Hawks were able to go on a five game winning streak enjoying close wins over both of
them. This winning streak was ended on Saturday as the Hawks lost 77-89 to the Heat. The Hawks finished off the week with a 2-1 mark bringing their season score to 14-8.
The Hawks were able to turn things around for themselves this week. Their opening match this week came last night when they met Orlando Magic in an away match. Although the Hawks were missing their star Joe Johnson, they were still
able to win their third of four games without him. Notable performances from Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby carried the Hawks to their 80-74 victory last night.
Although Johnson is expected to miss tonight’s match as well on account of recovering from an elbow surgery, Hawks can be expected to maintain their last night form for a win against the Nets. Though their home score (6-5), is
not as impressive as that on the road (8-3), the Hawks enjoying the home court advantage may be the favourites to win tonight’s match.
Despite the Nets leading the head-to-head 1-0 this season, they need a major turnaround if they expect to defeat the higher ranked Hawks.
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