East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The
New Jersey Nets begin the defense of their Eastern Conference crown Wednesday when they welcome the
Atlanta Hawks to Continental Airlines Arena.
After being swept by the Lakers in their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals, the Nets decided not to rest on their laurels and began tinkering with their roster. In one of the biggest trades of the offseason, New Jersey addressed its rebounding concern by acquiring center Dikembe Mutombo from Philadelphia in exchange for forward Keith Van Horn and center Todd MacCulloch.
The Nets then signed versatile forward Rodney Rogers away from Boston for even more help on the boards and another perimeter threat.
MVP runner-up Jason Kidd enters his second season with New Jersey a year after virtually saving the franchise. The team is hard at work trying to sign Kidd to a long-term deal, as he is eligible for free agency after the season.
With Van Horn gone, second-year player Richard Jefferson will start at small forward for New Jersey and should improve on his successful rookie campaign.
Backup point guard Chris Childs is expected to miss tonight's game, as he was suspended indefinitely by the Nets during the preseason for failure to be in playing shape.
The Atlanta Hawks seemed willing to try anything to improve last year's 33-49 record. Over the summer, the team decided to take a chance when it traded for a talented yet volatile scorer in Glenn Robinson. The Hawks acquired Robinson, a two-time All-Star, from Milwaukee in exchange for Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and one of two first-round draft picks in 2003.
Robinson forms a nice scoring combo with forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who made his first All-Star appearance in his first season with Atlanta last year.
Atlanta also hopes to reap the benefits of a healthy Theo Ratliff at center. However, forward DerMarr Johnson will miss the entire season as he recovers from cracked vertebrae suffered in a September car accident.
New Jersey finished with a 6-1 mark in the preseason, while Atlanta went 4-3.
Atlanta won two of the three meetings with New Jersey last season -- both home wins. However, the Hawks have dropped two straight and eight of their last 10 games at New Jersey.
