The Cavaliers beat the Nets the last time these two teams played by a score of 98-82. Remember that game? That was the game when Nets fans were getting upset at me for picking the Cavs over their super talented team. Fast forward to today and the Nets are 6-13 and still terrible. This should be oodles of fun.
Song Of The Day: What I Got - Sublime
Tonight's Overview:
New Jersey Nets (6-13) at Cleveland Cavaliers (7-10)
The Cavs are coming off a nice win against the Knicks and the Nets are coming off a completely inexplicable win against the Sixers. Could the Nets actually be improving and worthy of the irrational praise they receive from their fan base? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that no, they are not actually improving and that their win over the Sixers was a fluke. Other than the fact that New Jersey has like 15 guys with the last name "Williams" on their team, I can't really find any other reason why anybody should care about this team.
LOLWUTOMG YOU FORGOT WE CAN HAZ DERON WILLIAMS THO. Okay, calm down. Here's why I'm not really excited about Deron Williams: he's been awful this year. What the hell happened to the D-Will that was worthy of being one of the league's top point guards next to Chris Paul? It seems like he forgot to come to Jersey when Utah traded him. His FG% completely fell off when he got to the Nets. He shot 34.9% from the field with the Nets last year and is shooting a similarly miserable 39% from the field this year. His assist rates are still doing okay, although they have fallen off a good amount. Part of this is a result of having a garbage team around him, but he also just isn't playing as well. You'd figure that the scoring would still be there, right? As of right now, he's on pace to put up the worst PER of his career since his second year in the league.
If any Nets fans are reading this, make sure to have a seat and grab a paper bag before scrolling down and reading my next sentence.
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Kyrie Irving is better, after playing just 16 games, than former all-world point guard Deron Williams has played with New Jersey.
Whoa, that was extreme. Okay, there are a few conditions to this statement. This doesn't mean that Kyrie is better than Deron ever was or that he will even finish the season better than him. But as of right now, the Deron Williams that the Nets got in the trade with the Jazz has been less than what they expected. So much so, that a rookie point guard is outplaying him. Right now, I'd put Kyrie Irving in the All-Star Game over Williams
Key Matchup:
MarShon Brooks vs. Alonzo Gee
I'm not sure if this matchup will actually happen, but as of late, Gee has just been guarding the best scorer on each team they face. And he's been phenomenal. He's really bothered LeBron, Kobe, and Melo this season. Brooks is one of the Nets few decent offensive players and if Gee can shut him down, it will be very difficult for the Nets to score effectively.
Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction:
The Cavs once again beat the Nets and Kyrie gets back on track after his off shooting night against New York. Kyrie scores 19 points and Cleveland wins, 95-87.