When the Nets last faced the Magic in Orlando on Nov. 5, Brook Lopez missed his first 13 shots, finishing the game with 10 points and five rebounds, and Dwight Howard put up 30 points and 16 rebounds.
So, ahead of tonight’s rematch at the Prudential Center, coach Avery Johnson sat down with his young center for a one-on-one film session to try to find some answers.
“He has a few specific things, defensively and offensively, strategically that we want him to do,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t have to think about 10 different things and 10 different moves. He needs to be decisive.”
The rematch with Howard could not come at a worse time for Lopez. The 7-footer has been mired in a miserable slump over his past five games, averaging 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and shooting just under 29 percent from the field.
“Like I told him, the season has cycles in it,” Johnson said. “And he’s got to break out of this cycle mentally. Physically we really hit him hard [Thursday] in the weight room, and [it hopefully will] have some carryover in the game.”
So how is Lopez going to try to have better results tonight?
“Aggression, first and foremost,” Lopez said. “I think there’s been a bit of settling. It’s tough, shots haven’t been going down. But I can affect the game in a lot of other areas, and I don’t know if I really have been.”
The last matchup between Lopez and Howard was not an aberration. Lopez consistently has come up small against the Orlando star throughout his young career. In his seven games against the Magic, Howard has dominated Lopez in nearly every statistical category, including points (21.8 to 11.9), rebounds (15.1 to 7.4), blocks (2.9 to 1.9) and field-goal percentage (61.0 to 40.2).
“Dwight has been in gold-medal games for our national team. He’s been in the Finals, he’s been through playoff disappointments,” Johnson said. “He’s been double-teamed, triple-teamed, he’s been Defensive Player of the Year. He’s pretty good, guys, and they’re a pretty good team.”
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Troy Murphy (foot) practiced fully yesterday after missing Wednesday’s 95-87 win over Cleveland with an injured right foot. He is expected to play tonight.
“I think so, unless something nuts happens,” he said.
Johnson said he wouldn’t make a final decision until after today’s shootaround, and he was not sure if he would put Murphy back into the rotation.
The prognosis was not as good for Terrence Williams, who likely will miss his third straight game with a lower right abdominal strain. The 6-foot-7 swingman was limited to individual work on the side during practice, though Johnson said the team did not think an MRI exam was necessary and called Williams day-to-day.