Nothin' But Nets
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Nets Welcome Rival Raptors To Town Looking To Turn Their Season Around

By Anthony Parisi

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The Brooklyn Nets had high expectations coming into this season and everything that could’ve gone wrong, has gone wrong for the Nets. The Nets have lost 11 of their last 13 games and trade rumors are becoming more intense. Everybody on the Nets roster is tradable if the price is right and coach Lionel Hollins is starting to receive some of the blame for his team’s recent woes. The Nets schedule has been tough and it won’t get any easier tonight as their division rival and the division leading Toronto Raptors come to Barclays Center and although it’s in the past, the Raptors are still angry about losing to the Nets in the postseason last year, so expect the Raptors to play at their best.

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The Raptors are 31-15 on the season and their opponent the Nets are 18-27. Although the Nets aren’t having an ideal season, expect the Barclays Center crowd to still be into it because let’s not forget, Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri said “Fu– Brooklyn” before the two teams squared off last postseason so Nets fans do not like the Raptors and as we saw earlier in the season, Raptors fans do not like the Nets.

The All Star break hasn’t even reached yet, so to say that the Nets season is over is foolish because at any moment they can find their stride and go on a big winning streak. Brooklyn has had a history of getting off to bad starts and finishing the season strong, so they can only hope that the trend continues into this season. The Nets lack of depth at the point guard position has hurt them lately and they will still be without the services of Deron Williams against the Raptors.

Jarrett Jack has been forced to play a huge number of minutes while Williams has been out and although he isn’t complaining to coach Hollins, it’s easy to see that the fatigue is starting to alienate Jack. Williams is feeling better and his recovery from his fractured rib has been a grueling one, but the Nets are ecstatic that Williams will be returning shortly. Another player who is feeling the effects of increased minutes is Joe Johnson. Johnson has been battling through knee and ankle tendinitis, but that hasn’t stopped Johnson from playing a hefty load of minutes.

Losing Mirza Teletovic for the season hasn’t helped the Nets either and losing one of their most important reserve players Teletovic has been and will be a big loss for the remainder of the season. A win against the division rival Raptors could give the Nets some much needed positive momentum and the Nets are looking for some revenge after getting dismantled by the Raptors in Toronto earlier in the season.

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