This Friday, the (25-13) Brooklyn Nets will travel to New Orleans, LA to take on the (24-14) New Orleans Pelicans. Tipoff will be at 7:30 PM EST inside the Smoothie King Center. This will be the second time that these two teams will match up this season as the Pelicans won the first meeting, 130-108.
The Brooklyn Nets are coming into this one after losing to the Chicago Bulls, 121-112. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as the Bulls shot 53.1% from the field. They will have to contest more shots in this game if they want to challenge the Pels on the road.
The Pelicans are entering this one after defeating the Houston Rockets, 119-108. They looked great on the offensive end of the court, as they will have to stay efficient in this one if they want to battle with the Nets at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Brooklyn Nets are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are only one game back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On offense, they are scoring 115.1 points per game and they have shot 51.4% from the floor. This is the 12th most points scored per game and the highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Nets have an adjusted offensive rating of 116.3, which is the fourth-highest rating in the NBA. Kevin Durant continues to dominate on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 29.9 points per game on 56.8% shooting from the field. Brooklyn has also shown that they have multiple players that can make it rain from behind the arc. They are shooting 39.1% from deep, which is the second-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. The Nets have also taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they are shooting 79.9% from the line. This is the sixth-highest free-t hrow shooting percentage, as they have to stay focused at the line if they want to challenge the Pelicans on the road.
On the defensive end of the court, the Nets have tightened up. They are currently surrendering 111.1 points per game and their opponents have shot 45.5% from the floor. This is the eighth least amount of points allowed per game and the fourth-lowest shooting percentage given up from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Nets have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.2, which is the ninth-lowest rating in the NBA. Brooklyn has also shown that they will contest shots near the rim, but their perimeter defense has continued to hurt them. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 36.5% from behind the arc, which is the 25th-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Brooklyn Nets have also struggled to consistently rebound, as they are only grabbing 40.4 rebounds per game. This is the second least in the NBA, as th ey have to keep the Pelicans off the glass if they want to bounce back in this game.
Injury Report: T.J. Warren SF (Ribs) and Markieff Morris PF (Illness) are listed as questionable.
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