Bobcats at Nets
THE STORY: Teams wanting to get started with their off-season plans get together Monday when the Charlotte Bobcats visit the New Jersey Nets. The Bobcats have lost six straight and are playing out the string with nine healthy bodies, while the Nets have lost three straight and have three starters on the sidelines.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES, SportSouth
ABOUT THE NETS (24-56): New Jersey was hoping to use the end of the season to build momentum toward 2011-12 with All-Star point guard Deron Williams, but the Nets are limping to the finish line. New Jersey has lost nine of 10 and 13 of 15 after an encouraging four-game winning streak. Williams has missed 11 of the last 17 games with a nagging wrist injury and will join power forward Kris Humphries on the sidelines for the final two games. The Nets were pounded the first three quarters Sunday at Toronto before falling 99-92. Brook Lopez had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic added 19 points.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (32-48): The Bobcats had a promising start after Paul Silas took over for a fired Larry Brown, but the Bobcats have faded down the stretch, especially since the trade of Gerald Wallace. They are 7-16 since the deadline and have surrendered 100 points in three straight after holding foes to less than 100 in in 13 of the previous 17. The Bobcats scored 40 points in the first quarter and took a 15-point lead but struggled the rest of the way in a 112-101 loss to Detroit on Sunday. Gerald Henderson had 21 points, Boris Diaw 20 and D.J. Augustin 14 and a career-high 14 assists.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Lopez has scored 101 points in his last three games. The Bobcats managed only a combined 38 points in the second and third periods Sunday after dropping 40 in the first quarter.
KEY STATISTIC: Charlotte tied a franchise record with 17 field goals in the first quarter Sunday. The club shot 77 percent in the period, and Augustin set a franchise record with nine assists.
SEASON SERIES: Charlotte has taken two out of three. The Nets won the most recent contest 94-89 on Feb. 11. Lopez led the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds – his first double-digit rebounding game since Dec. 1. New Jersey committed only five turnovers. No team has shot better than 44 percent in any of the games.
KEY INJURIES: CHARLOTTE: F Stephen Jackson (left hamstring); G Shaun Livingston (tailbone), F Tyrus Thomas (left knee); C Joel Przybilia (right knee); F Eduardo Najera (lower back); C DeSagana Diop (right Achilles). NEW JERSEY: G Deron Williams (right wrist); G Anthony Morrow (left knee); F Kris Humphries (right ankle); G Sundiata Gaines (right hip); F Damion James (right foot).
LAST WORD: "We're not just here to get it over with. We want to compete every night." -- Nets guard Sasha Vujacic.