Last time Mikhail Prokhorov was at a Nets game, he discussed his decision to fire Avery Johnson.
This time, Prokhorov will be evaluating his replacement, interim coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Prokhorov’s spokesperson said the team’s Russian billionaire owner will be in attendance for Wednesday night’s game against the Heat and Friday night’s game against the Bulls, and Nets general manager Billy King said the two will discuss the job Carlesimo has done in his month in charge.
“Ownership is going to be in town for [the games] Wednesday and Friday,” King said on NBA TV Monday. “So I’m sure we’ll have a chance to visit and meet a little bit.
“I don’t know if a decision is going to made, but I think what we’ll do is sit there and talk about the job he’s done and where we are as a team, but I don’t think there’s a specific timetable where we will go forward and make any other further announcements.We’re just going to continue to evaluate the situation.”
The last time Prokhorov was at a Nets game was on Dec. 28 and 29, when he watched the Nets beat the Bobcats and Cavaliers in the team’s first two games under Carlesimo. Since Carlesimo replaced Johnson, the Nets have gone 13-4, including wins over the Thunder and Knicks.
* King also weighed in on the subject of the Nets, and specifically Brook Lopez, being passed over for the All-Star team last week.
“I don’t think Deron [Williams] has had the kind of year that Deron’s had [previously], and I think Joe [Johnson] has gotten hot late, but I think Brook has been consistent all year,’’ he said. “You look at his numbers and look at what he’s done for us offensively and defensively, I think it was a disgrace that he wasn’t on the squad.“I know coaches have their votes and they pick who they want to pick, but I thought it was a disgrace he wasn’t put on the team.”
Lopez has a chance to make the team as a replacement for Rajon Rondo, though, after the Celtics star was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL. The commissioner’s office will name a replacement for Rondo sometime before next month’s All-Star Game in Houston.
* Williams did not practice (flu), but Carlesimo said he is hopeful he will play. Williams has missed one game to injury this season, Dec. 26 when he sat out with a wrist injury.
* Starting with Wednesday night’s game, five of the Nets’ next eight games leading up to the All-Star break are against opponents with a winning record. The Nets are 17-0 this season against teams under .500, but just 10-18 against teams with a .500 record or better.
“The three teams coming up [Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles Lakers] — certainly the two teams in our own conference [will be tough],” Carlesimo said. “If you look at all our games through the All-Star break, the Spurs are coming in, Denver’s coming in, Indiana I believe. Those games that we have left, a lot of them are against not just playoff teams, but playoff teams that are going to be seeded No. 1-4.
“We’ll find out a lot about where we are at right now.”
* A win would give the Nets their 12th win in January, which would be a franchise record for the month.
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Lopez said he s hoping to do something he has never done Wednesday night over the course of his career — beat LeBron James.
“I don’t know … maybe? I think we got him a few times, I can’t remember?” the center said, when asked if he has ever beaten a team LeBron James was on.
But Lopez was incorrect. In his five seasons in the league, Lopez is a combined 0-11 against the Cavaliers (0-7) and Heat (0-4), never getting the best of James in a head-to-head matchup. The Nets also have lost four games against the Heat in which Lopez was injured, meaning since he has been on the Nets, they are 0-15 against James.
“It would definitely be big, but regardless, whoever we’re playing, we want that win just as much,” Lopez said.