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The Good
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Al Jefferson ate the Nets' lunch last year. When the Wolves hosted New Jersey on January 27, 2008 Al scored 40 points on 62% shooting, grabbed 19 rebounds, shot 17 free throws (made 14) and got a pair of blocks. Getting front court minutes in that game for the Nets were Josh Boone, Sean Williams, Malik Allen and ... wait for it ... Jason Collins! A matchup with Brook Lopez, Boone or Williams should pose no problems for Big Al. Williams' minutes and production have dropped, Boone is out with a bone bruise, and Lopez is known for his offense, not his defense.
Nets' last few games, record, home record
The Bad
- When the Wolves faced the Nets at the IZOD Center, Al's line was less inspiring.
- Devin Harris and Vince Carter will cause problems for our perimeter defense. Not only can our guards apparently not stay in front of average NBA slashers, but Harris is playing out of his mind this season and Half Man/Half a Season is apparently picking the first 41 games this year (23ppg, 47.7% FG, 40.8% 3PT). Odds are both will see a lot of time at the line tonight.
- Mike Miller will be a gametime decision after spraining his ankle against Orlando. He taped his ankle for shootaround and put in some extra time before saying he feels ready to play. But the call is up to Randy Wittman. Despite New Jersey playing better than expected this year, this game is winnable for the Wolves (where have I heard that before...), so it will be interesting to see if Witt plays Miller to improve the chances of winning, or sits him to prevent aggravating the injury.
UPDATE: Nate here. Just a reminder that our Tis the Season donation post for underprivileged kids to go to a NBA game will close tomorrow. If you would like to give a young boy or girl the opportunity to go see the greatest game on earth, click here for more details. Tickets are $22 apiece.
1st Quarter UPDATE:
| Pace (Poss) | Eff | eFG | FT/FG | OREB% | TOr | |
| MIN | NaN (20) | 85.0 | 31.3% | 43.8 | 10.0 | 5.0 |
| NJN | 155.0 | 58.7% | 17.4 | 33.3 | 5.0 |
It's a good thing starting point guard Kevin Ollie got a whole 2 minutes of action. That was some solid perimeter d he exhibited. My initial guess is that this is Witt's last game. This is going poorly.