Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers 11-15-16
Time: Tuesday November 15, 2016, 10:30 PM ET
Venue: Staples Center Los Angeles, CA
TV: YES Network
Projected Starters:
Brooklyn: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Sean Kilpatrick, Bojan Bogdanovic, Trevor Booker, Brook Lopez
Lakers: D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Luol Deng, Julius Randle, Timofey Mozgov
Absences:
Brooklyn: Jeremy Lin, Caris LeVert
Lakers: None
The Brooklyn Nets got blown out last night at the Staples Center against the less notorious Clippers. Tonight, they get the big stage. Jack Nicholson and all will be present tonight for tonight’s match-up against the Lakers. This one should go better than last night’s Staples Center excursion.
The Lakers, like the Nets, are one of the NBA’s surprises this season. Both of these teams were looking to be at the bottom of the barrel, but, with great coaching, they are right in the thick of things. Luke Walton has led this young team to a 6-5 record while Kenny Atkinson has led his young team to a 4-6 record.
The Lakers are fresh off of a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not only did the Wolves blow them out, Andrew Wiggins scored 47 points on them. Brooklyn beat the Wolves earlier this season, so hopefully that equals out to a Nets victory tonight.
The Lakers, though, are no easy task. Their young guns in D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, and Julius Randle are all developing nicely. Do not forget about Jordan Clarkson off of the bench. Add in veteran Lou Williams off of the bench, and you have yourself a solid team.
Brook Lopez, after his night off, will need to be dominant tonight. I said in yesterday’s preview that he needed to do so, but Coach Atkinson gave him a rest against one of the league’s best front courts for some reason. Either way, Brook will be in action tonight and will be a key player. Lopez’s presence will make it easier on Sean Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick made a mere 5-17 shots last night as a starter and seemingly gave up most of his minutes to Yogi Ferrell and Randy Foye.
Kilpatrick will rebound nicely tonight due to Lopez being a scoring option for Brooklyn. Justin Hamilton simply is not Brook Lopez down low. Defensively, Brooklyn will need to stop the back court for the Lakers. Russell and Young are both quality guards that can do just about everything. Add in Jordan Clarkson, and you have some real scoring threats.
Brooklyn and Los Angeles are pretty evenly matched in this game so it should be a fun game to watch. This should be competitive and this should have a lot of offense. Brooklyn very easily could get a win in this Staples Center back-to-back tonight.