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Today at Hawks: Coverage on YES and the YES App begins at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday vs Heat: Coverage on YES and the YES App begins at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday vs Bulls: Coverage on YES and the YES App begins at 7:00 p.m.

Tipping Off

Following a pair of off days, the Nets are going to face an Atlanta team on Wednesday that will be playing on the second of back-to-back nights after an In-Season Tournament matchup with Indiana 24 hours earlier. Saturday’s meeting with Miami will open a five-game homestand for Brooklyn, which could be extended depending on how the tournament goes. It will be the third contest between the Nets and Heat already this season – they split their first two, and afterwards they are not going to see each other again until they wrap up their season series in the middle of January. Sunday’s clash with Chicago will be a rematch from Nov. 3 when the Nets won their first-ever In-Season Tournament game by defeating the Bulls in a game that went down to the last shot…on the United Center’s bright red tournament court.

Nets Notes

Lonnie Walker IV hit a career-high six three-pointers Sunday against Philadelphia on his way to a team-high 26 points, which gave him his fourth game of the season with at least 20 and tying him with Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. for the most by an NBA player off the bench. Nic Claxton has averaged 11.0 PPG and 8.5 RPG while totaling 10 blocks in four games since returning from a sprained left ankle that cost him close to three weeks. With 11 points and 10 rebounds last Tuesday against Orlando, Day’Ron Sharpe logged a double-double in the first half alone, the sixth in a game during his three-season career and one of three by an Eastern Conference player this year to occur entirely within the first half of action – the others were delivered by reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who nearly triple-doubled against the Nets on Sunday, and Mark Williams of the Hornets. Spencer Dinwiddie has been more aggressive recently, averaging nearly 12 field goal attempts over his last four games after taking a little over eight shots per game within his first eight.

Know The Foes

The owners of three career All-Star nods between them, Trae Young and DeJounte Murray lead the Hawks and are combining to average 44.7 PPG. Miami has won eight out of nine games since losing to Brooklyn on Nov. 1, including its second game versus the Nets last Thursday in which Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 36 points, Duncan Robinson dropped 26 including six three-pointers, and Bam Adebayo chipped in 20 points. Chicago has lost eight of its last 11 games and there has been trade speculation around standout scorer Zach LaVine, who signed a five-year max contract worth about $215 million in the summer of 2022.

A Dazzling Fact

Mikal Bridges had a night to remember Friday when his jersey was retired by Villanova University. A two-time National Champion, Bridges’ honors during his college days from 2015-18 included a Big East Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Julius Erving Award honoring the nation’s top small forward, and an All-Big East First Team selection. Bridges is now the fifth player to have their jersey retired by Villanova and play for the Nets’ franchise, joining a group that includes ABA star Bill Melchionni and Kerry Kittles, who spent most of his career with the Nets from the late 90s into the early 2000s. Stay with YES and the YES App to continue watching what Bridges and his Brooklyn teammates are building!