Inside The Nets

GAME PREVIEW AND INJURY REPORT: Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards

The Brooklyn Nets are back home at Barclays for a bit, and they want to head into the road trip riding high with a three-game winning streak.

Marin Gabric

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The Nets look to continue their momentum with a game against the struggling Washington Wizards.

The Brooklyn Nets are fresh off a magnificent win over the Atlanta Hawks. They were superb, but their opponents made it a close game, eventually ending in a Mikal Bridges game-winner.

Now, the Nets will have to play the lowly Washington Wizards, who have had a rough start to the 2023/24 season. The two teams have already played each other back on November 12, but almost a month later, they will clash again at Barclays Center.

The Nets should not be complacent again

The Nets are a better team than the Wizards, but they should not be complacent and play with low energy. That already happened to the Nets just last week when they were defeated by the Charlotte Hornets, who are in a similar position as the Wizards. Remember, LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller did not play for the Hornets in that game, making it such a horrible loss for Brooklyn.

Thankfully, they’ve learned their lesson because Bridges made sure to play better in the following two games. Against the Orlando Magic, Mikal had a chip on his shoulder as he wanted to redeem himself and the team from that loss to Charlotte. He scored 42 points to lead the Nets in breaking the Magic’s nine-game winning streak.

Now that they are playing the Wizards, there is always a chance of a surprise upset because Washington has some intriguing players. That is headlined by Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, who have been good players before, but 2023/24 has not been their year. They always have a good game in them, and it’s up to the Nets to stop them from having those good games.

Injury Report

For the Nets, they are still missing Ben Simmons from the lineup, who is still recovering from a nerve impingement in his lower back. Lonnie Walker IV is still sidelined for the next few games with his left hamstring strain.

On the other side, the Wizards continue to miss Ryan Rollins, Landry Shamet, Johnny Davis, and Delon Wright, all with different injuries. Lastly, starting big man Daniel Gafford is questionable for the Nets game due to a left ankle sprain.

This will be an exciting game to watch because of the offensive firepower between both teams, but it’s hard to go against the Brooklyn Nets, who are riding high on a two-game winning streak and they have an on-fire Mikal Bridges. 

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Marin Gabric
MARIN GABRIC

Marin's love for writing developed in high school but was furthered in college when he took a number of creative writing courses. Doing sports writing felt like an extremely natural continuation, as it furthered his passions in both writing and basketball.  Marin loves the feeling of looking at stats after a game and analyzing what each team could've done better or what they excel in compared to the rest of the league. And the ability to do so for his favorite team, the Brooklyn Nets, is quite special in itself. 

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