The Brooklyn Nets have been on an absolute roll this week, but they haven't faced a team of the Los Angeles Clippers' caliber yet. That challenge comes Saturday, as Deron Williams and company visit the Staples Center for their final matchup of the season against the Clips.
Nets vs. Clippers preview: Surging Brooklyn visits Hollywood
The Nets have been on fire this week. Will a visit to sunny L.A. cool their jets?
Bruce Bennett
A good offensive team that’s often been defined by fits and starts this season, the Nets have been impressive this week in dominant wins over Detroit and Dallas. Averaging a combined 116 points per game over the two contests is as strong a stretch as this team has had to date.
Chris Paul earns flop warning
Clippers star Chris Paul received a well-deserved warning from the NBA for a recent flop. Entering the season, the Nets envisioned overwhelming teams with the powerful inside-outside duo of Williams and Brook Lopez. In the past two games, fans have gotten a glimpse of that plan working to perfection.
During that stretch, Williams has averaged 31 points on 53 percent shooting and 5.5 assists per contest. Lopez has been the hyper-efficient Robin to Deron’s Batman, adding 28 points on 69 percent shooting and nine rebounds per game.
Williams has typically thrived against Chris Paul-led teams in his career, notes Nets Daily, SB Nation’s Nets blog.
Those big games came against below-average defenses, however, which Los Angeles certainly doesn’t have. Coming off arguably their best defensive performance of the season, the Clippers are presumably planning to shut the duo down.
The eighth-best team in the league in terms of defensive efficiency this season, the Clippers rebounded from a very poor defensive effort against Sacramento earlier this week to limit the 76ers to 72 points on Wednesday. Now well-rested and playing at home, Saturday could be a welcome challenge for L.A.
Saturday’s game begins at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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