Predictions
Justin DeFeo: This latest 5-1 streak the Lakers have been on may show they are better than their record suggests, and the Nets have not done well against the top teams in the NBA. For this reason, the Lakers to win a close one.
Mark Ginocchio: I have concerns that the Nets are in another rut, which could lead to a poor month of basketball that brings them back down to .500. I say Kobe has a dominant all-around game while D-Will and Joe Johnson struggle. Lakers win 101-88 in a game that feels closer than it actually ever is.
Andrew Gnerre: Nets win 93-91 on a forced late-game jumper from Reggie Evans after he grabs an offensive rebound with two seconds left on the clock. Or whatever similarly embarrassing scenario you can think of.
Devin Kharpertian: Nets win a semi-close one. The Lakers are better than their record suggests, but I’m not sold on the ultimate turnaround just yet, whether or not Howard actually plays.
Benjamin Nadeau: Nets win, 92-87.
Will Rausch: Nets 100, Lakers 95. Nets avenge their five-point loss out in Los Angeles with a five-point victory of their own. Kobe’s newfound lexical discovery of the word “pass” keeps the Lakers in it, but Brook Lopez is too much for the weakened L.A. interior defense. Gerald Wallace flies 90 feet across the length of the court after a Metta World Peace elbow.
Max Weisberg: Lakers win 104-99. Maybe it’s the natural Nets pessimism, but with the way the Nets have played in “big games” (and yes, Deron Williams thinks this is one), I’m not confident in this one.
Final Tally: 4 say Nets win, 3 say Lakers Win
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