The Brooklyn Nets will look to bounce back from a bad loss against the Chicago Bulls when they play host to the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night at Barclays Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Here’s what we’ll be watching for:
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: The Nets (43-32) are just 2-5 in their past seven games at Barclays Center. Luckily, they’re 2-0 against the hapless Bobcats (18-58) this season. Brooklyn has beaten Charlotte six straight times overall. The Nets are 27-4 against sub-.500 teams (at time of game played) in 2012-13.
MUST-WIN: The Nets are just a game up on the Bulls for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Brooklyn and Chicago seem destined to meet in Round 1.
BOUNCING BACK: Brook Lopez had a horrible final minute in Thursday night’s loss to the Bulls, missing a pair of shots and committing a costly turnover. Lopez had 28 points in that game -- but just 10 in the final three quarters.
LOOK! A HEALTHY TEAM: The Nets had no injuries to report during morning shootaround, which is certainly a good thing. Joe Johnson will start again after scoring 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting in his return to the lineup Thursday after missing the previous five games due to heel and quad injuries.