The Brooklyn Nets (15-39) went into the All-Star break having two of their last three games against some of the teams that are jockeying for draft position in the Lottery. However, Brooklyn is still focused on trying to fix some of their issues as they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-14) on Friday and if you’re wondering where you can watch all the action live, you’ve come to the right place!
The Nets come into this game after a 112-84 loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in which Brooklyn still has plenty to figure out as they trailed by as many as 43 points in the contest. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the team in scoring with 14 points and five rebounds while forward Ochai Agbaji, who the Nets acquired prior to the trade deadline, had his best game for Brooklyn to the tune of 13 points and three rebounds.
The Thunder enter this matchup following a 110-93 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 12 in which Oklahoma City had trouble keeping up with Milwaukee without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup. Guard Isaiah Joe had 17 points and four rebounds to lead the team while forward Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 13 rebounds to try to make up for Gilgeous-Alexander being unavailable.
The Lines, Courtesy Of BetMGM
Notable Injuries
Nets: OUT: Nic Claxton (ankle), Ziaire Williams (personal reasons), Josh Minott (G League), Ben Saraf (G League), Tyson Etienne (G League), Chaney Johnson (G League), and EJ Liddell (G League).
Thunder: OUT: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal), Ajay Mitchell (abdominal/ankle), Thomas Sorber (knee), and Jalen Williams (hamstring).
Advice and Prediction
The Nets came out of the All-Star break hoping that they had corrected some of their issues that were plaguing them heading into the break. However, after Thursday’s loss at the Cavaliers, it became clear that Brooklyn still has plenty of issues to work on before the season is over and at this rate, it seems that everyone is getting more frustrated by the loss.
The Thunder are one of the teams that many expect to make another deep playoff run, but for this matchup, they will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City is still one of the deeper teams in the league as they still have Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein so the Nets will have to find a way to deal with some of those double-big lineups.
The Nets and Thunder rank towards the bottom half of the league in terms of pace, but it’s the offensive and defensive end of the floor that separates these two teams on opposite ends of the winning spectrum. Brooklyn ranks as one of the worst teams in the NBA in offensive and defensive rating while Oklahoma City is one of the best teams by those same metrics.
Prediction: Thunder 115, Nets 105
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets at OKC Thunder betting preview: Prediction, point spread, odds
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
