Stop number two on the Western Conference road trip will land the Nets (4-6) in Salt Lake City tonight to take on the Northwest Division-leading Utah Jazz (7-4).
The Nets are hoping they’ll finally have their full arsenal of players for the game tonight, as Terrence Williams tries to return from the abdominal strain that has made him miss the last four games. New Jersey is also happy that Devin Harris avoided a suspension for his grade-2 flagrant foul on Blake Griffin in Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
After losing five straight, the Nets have rebounded to win two of their last three, led in part by the hot shooting of Travis Outlaw and the pleasantly-surprising Kris Humphries, who’s averaged 10 points and 12.3 boards while starting each of the last three games at power forward.
The Jazz know a thing or two about good play at the power forward position. Paul Millsap is exceeding all expectations while starting in place of Carlos Boozer, who left for Chicago as a free agent. Millsap’s breakout game came in Utah’s overtime victory against the Miami Heat November 9 when he scored 46 points in 43 minutes, including 11 in the final 28 seconds of regulation. He’s formed quite a tandem with Deron Williams, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for averaging 23 points and 11.3 assists per game while leading the Jazz to a 4-0 road trip against Southeast Division opponents.
Andrei Kirilenko, Raja Bell and Kyrylo Fesenko are expected to be game-time decisions for tonight’s contest.
New Jersey Nets (4-6) Projected Starting Lineup
- PG Devin Harris: 17.8 ppg, 6.8 apg
- SG Anthony Morrow: 10.6 ppg, 1.2 apg
- SF Travis Outlaw: 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
- PF Kris Humphries: 6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg
- C Brook Lopez: 18.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Utah Jazz (7-4) Projected Starting Lineup
- PG Deron Williams: 22.2 ppg, 10.3 apg
- SG Gordon Hayward: 2.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg
- SF Andrei Kirilenko: 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg
- PF Paul Millsap: 21.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg
- C Al Jefferson: 16.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg