Brooklyn is coming off a tough 103-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Monday night. It was a close matchup for much of the game with the lead going back and forth up until the final minutes of the game. Milwaukee ended the game on a 9-0 run and secured their first win of the season. 

Following the Loss, head coach Lionel Hollins said, “We scratched and clawed. It was a game we could’ve had.

“We got a bit fatigue in the second half. I thought we had some great looks. We just didn’t knock them down,” Joe Johnson added. 

As for the Hawks, they will look to win their fifth straight after coming off a 98-92 victory over the Miami Heat. Jeff Teague notched 26 points on Tuesday night. Since losing their season opener, they’ve won three straight and are currently third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Projected starting lineup for the Nets includes Jarrett Jack, Markel Brown, Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez. For Atlanta, Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap and Al Horford. Kyle Korver, the former three-point shootout champion, is probable to miss the game after having played last night. Korver, who underwent off-season surgery and has shown struggles on the offensive end, has already missed a back-to-back game this season.

This will be the first time these two teams square off this season since their last encounter in the playoffs last season where Atlanta won it, 4-1. Johnson, who played seven seasons with the Hawks, was a key contributor in the postseason against his former team with averages of 17 points, eight boards, and five assists per game.  

Atlanta, who made the Eastern Conference finals last season, has many different ways of running their offense with either getting inside points from Al Horford, achieve fast break points with the high speed of Jeff Teague, or knock down three-point buckets with the likes of Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Kent Bazemore.

In the previous games, Brooklyn has struggled defending the three-point arc. When the Nets went up against Chicago in their season opener, they allowed the Bulls to shoot 50 percent while making a total of 14 three-pointers.

Against Milwaukee, they let Jerryd Bayless tie a career-high with six threes and drop 26 points. Although Korver (who can be a huge threat from downtown) is unlikely to play, defensive attention from beyond the arc will still be necessary if the Nets plan on walking out of the Philips Arena with a W.

An improvement to mention for Brooklyn is their offense. They recorded 14 fast break points last game and their bench is currently 11th in the league in scoring with 37 points per game. The starters also weren't shy of scoring the previous matchup, as four out of the five finished in double digits. A key matchup to be on the lookout for will be Lopez versus Horford. Lopez is averaging 18 points and seven rebounds, while Horford is currently at 17 points and nine boards per contest.

The game will be start at 8:00 P.M. EST.

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