Both the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets may be without multiple key players in Friday night's matchup.

The Nets are firmly in the draft lottery picture with 36 games left, and their position is becoming clearer by the day. Brooklyn currently sits fourth in the lottery order, per Tankathon. At 12-34, the Nets are on a seven-game losing streak and are 1-9 over their last 10 games,

The Nets failed to hit 70 points in a January game for the second season in a row.

The development part has to be real, too. Not “they got reps” real. Real as in better reads, sharper cuts, consistent effort and improved shot selection. Better basketball. Each rookie has shown flashes this season, Ben Saraf included, though he’s been consistently in the G League for a while now. All five must continue to take strides.

Our Nets vs. Knicks predictions believe Brooklyn will keep things close tonight. Free NBA picks for Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

The Nets' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.1 fewer made shots on average than the 14.3 per game the Celtics allow. The Celtics average 116.8 points per game, 2.3 more than the 114.5 the Nets allow to opponents.

Nets teenager Egor Dëmin’s Utah homecoming was a victorious one. The lottery pick — who played in-state at BYU — had the best night of his impressive rookie season, leading the Nets to a 109-99 win over the Jazz before a sellout crowd of 18,

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