The Nets (2-1) will play host to the Charlotte Bobcats tonight in the fourth and final game of their season-opening homestand. After losing their first game of the season by 23 points to the superstar-led Miami Heat, the Nets will look to grab their third win of the year against a team a little more at their level.
The Nets are hoping that Troy Murphy could make his season debut tonight. The newly-acquired power forward practiced on Tuesday and met Avery Johnson’s expectations, but the coach called him “50-50” for tonight. There’s a chance he could start, but even if he does, he is expected to play with a minutes restriction. Kris Humphries is expected to start in place of Joe Smith if Murphy does not.
After twisting his ankle in the aforementioned Tuesday practice, Anthony Morrow will also be a game-time decision tonight. He was expected to log only partial participation in Wednesday morning’s shootaround, but Morrow was positive that he would play against the Bobcats, his hometown team.
Unlike the Nets, who’ve been one of the positive surprises through the NBA’s first week, the Bobcats (0-3) have stumbled out of the gate. Charlotte suffered double-digit losses on the road to Dallas and Milwaukee, which sandwiched a three-point defeat at home against Indiana. A playoff team a year ago, the Bobcats are now starting D.J. Augustin at point guard in place of Raymond Felton, who signed with the Knicks as a free agent this offseason. Augustin has averaged 17 points and 5.3 assists per game, but the Bobcats rank 27th in the league in points per game thus far (91.7).
Charlotte Bobcats (0-3) Projected Starting Lineup
- PG D.J. Augustin: 17.0 ppg, 5.3 apg
- SG Stephen Jackson: 15.7 ppg, 4.3 apg
- SF Gerald Wallace: 18.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg
- PF Boris Diaw: 10.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
- C Nazr Mohammed: 6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
New Jersey Nets (2-1) Projected Starting Lineup
- PG Devin Harris: 18.7 ppg, 8.3 apg
- SG Anthony Morrow: 7.3 ppg, 34.8% fg%
- SF Travis Outlaw: 7.7 ppg, 28.6% fg%
- PF Kris Humphries: 5.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
- C Brook Lopez: 24.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg
(Photo courtesy of YardBarker.com)