Brooklyn @ Charlotte preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2018 ) Brooklyn 87, Charlotte 100

The Brooklyn Nets are struggling to find consistency through a series of roster fluctuations and are sinking back toward the tail end of the Eastern Conference playoff race. They'll try to get everyone on the same page and fend off one of their closest challengers in the East when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

After dropping five of seven prior to the All-Star break, Brooklyn fell 113-99 to Portland at home Thursday night, with a trio of starting guards shooting a combined 8-of-31 from the floor. "We didn't have great rhythm tonight, didn't play well. I think that's across the board. Didn't coach well, didn't play well," coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "It was just one of those games where I think Portland was simply the better team. There's just no way around it." The Hornets were easily the better team in Friday's 123-110 win over the Washington Wizards to begin a four-game homestand. Kemba Walker led six players in double figures with 27 points while collecting a season high-tying 11 assists as Charlotte moved within a game of sixth-place Brooklyn in the East.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FS Southeast (Charlotte)

ABOUT THE NETS (30-30): Caris LeVert is shooting 36.2 percent from the field - including 3-of-15 from beyond the arc - in four games since returning from a lenghty layoff, but the team seems intent on sticking with the dynamic guard in the starting lineup for the time being. "Obviously we have a long relationship now. He's been here from the beginning and so I'm not thinking of just the past three games, three or four games," Atkinson told the media. "I'm thinking of preseason and last season and how well he started the season and listen, I think from a physical standpoint he's looked pretty sharp." Reserve Allen Crabbe is trending in the other direction by making 16-of-33 from 3-point range over the same four-game stretch.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (28-30): Coach James Borrego altered his rotation Friday by placing guard Jeremy Lamb on the bench, moving rookie forward Miles Bridges into the starting lineup and shifting Nicolas Batum to shooting guard. Batum and Bridges combined for 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting while Lamb shined in his new role with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals in 23 minutes. "I wanted to balance the two groups a little bit, let Lamb come off and give us a little more scoring off the bench," Borrego told reporters. "I like pairing him with Tony (Parker). I just like the mixture of starting Miles and what it does for both of our units."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets PG Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 37 points in a double-overtime win over the Hornets earlier this season, remains sidelined following thumb surgery last month.

2. Batum hit 5-of-9 from 3-point range against Washington after missing all nine of his attempts in the previous two games.

3. Walker scored 64 points while making 11-of-21 from behind the 3-point arc through the first two matchups with Brooklyn.

PREDICTION: Hornets 104, Nets 103