Not even a career night from Kawhi Leonard can rescue the Spurs from a season-opening loss on Wednesday as San Antonio suffered a deflating 112-106 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The five-time NBA champions will look to get their season back on track tonight when they take on the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster showdown at AT&T Center.
In this battle of 0-1 teams, who will emerge victorious? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Orlando vs. Oklahoma City and Golden State vs. Houston.
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Brooklyn Nets vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
When: Friday, October 30, 2015, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Brooklyn Nets (+14) at San Antonio Spurs (-14); total: 204.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Brooklyn Nets (0-1)
The Brooklyn Nets opened their 2015-16 season in embarrassing fashion as they were mercilessly beaten by the Chicago Bulls, 115-100, on Wednesday. It was a disappointing performance by the Nets who had won their previous three home openers here in Brooklyn. They simply had no answer for the Bulls’ offensive explosion with six Chicago players scoring in double-figures.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Things are bound to get tougher for the rebuilding Nets who will now embark on a grueling road trip. Eleven of Brooklyn’s next 15 games will be played on the road, including a tough back-to-back this weekend at San Antonio and Memphis. The Spurs have been a thorn in the Nets’ side especially at AT&T Center. The Nets have lost 40 of their last 45 road games against the Spurs.
For the Nets to reverse that trend tonight, they will need to improve mightily on their outside shooting. The Nets shot horribly from beyond the arc in their season-opener, missing all of their nine three-point attempts against Chicago. Helping the Nets in that regard is Jarrett Jack who’s slated to make his first start tonight. He missed Brooklyn’s opener due to a hamstring injury.
It’s also vital for the Nets that they improve their play on the defensive end. Brooklyn, 22nd in defensive field-goal percentage (45.6) last season, allowed Chicago to shoot 53.8 percent and 14-of-28 from three-point land.
The Nets are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games against Western Conference teams.
LaMarcus Aldridge finally makes his regular-season home debut for San Antonio when the Spurs host the Brooklyn Nets later tonight. The 30-year-old signed a four-year, $84 million contract in the offseason after leaving the Blazers and managed just 11 points and five rebounds in the Spurs’ season-opening loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
It was Kawhi Leonard who stole the show for the Spurs in that ballgame, scoring a career-high 32 points against the Thunder. He also put up eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Spurs who are seeking their 13th straight home win against the Nets tonight. The Spurs have won by an average of 14.5 points during their 12-game home winning streak in the series.
Much is expected again in this game from Leonard who averaged a career-best 16.5 points last season. He scored 21 points in their last meeting with the Nets in San Antonio last November. Danny Green also scored 21 points for the Spurs in that 99-87 victory. He has averaged 19.3 points while hitting 14 of 22 from beyond the arc in his last three games against Brooklyn.
For the Spurs to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole, they will need to address their failings on the defensive end. They allowed Oklahoma City to erupt for 33 points in the final quarter on Wednesday. The Spurs will need to find ways to limit the production of Brook Lopez and Andrea Bargnani who combined for 43 points in their game against Chicago. The Spurs allowed 44 points inside the paint in that loss to the Thunder.
The Spurs are 5-0 ATS in their last five games vs. Eastern Conference teams.
