They won't be in action, but they have two ways to finally lock up a spot in the postseason. One possibility requires the Ottawa Senators to lose at Madison Square Garden. If the Rangers come away with a win in any fashion against the Senators -- winners of four of their last five -- then the Isles would clinch.

The Islanders can also clinch if the Bruins lose in any manner to the Panthers. The Washington Capitals helped the Islanders Wednesday by beating the Bruins 3-0 at the Verizon Center.

Here's the first rule: IT IS STILL EARLY! Outside of strikeout rate, ground ball rate and fly ball rate, it's still so early that most of the rates for the commonly used rate statistics have not stabilized yet.

Miami is the only legitimate playoff contender left on the Nets' remaining schedule, so tonight could be a tune-up game for both teams before the postseason gets started.

Before the 2013-14 NBA season began, the Heat had won the last 13 consecutive matchups between these two teams. But with a win tonight, Brooklyn would earn a four-game season sweep against Miami for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Winners of three straight games and seven of their last eight, the surging Nets look to continue their recent run of knocking off fellow Eastern Conference playoff contenders, as they continue to jockey for position in a tightly-packed conference.

Nobody is going to catch the top-seeded Pacers or second-seeded Heat, but the three through six seeds are separated by just 3.5 games entering action on Saturday.

A win would tie the Nets' season-high of seven consecutive home wins, and they're looking to earn a season-split with the Kings, after Brooklyn lost in Sacramento 107-86 back on November 13. However, the Nets are a different team today than they were in that previous matchup, and a recent trade with these Kings is a factor in that.

In that blowout loss in Sacramento early in the season, Marcus Thornton scored a game-high 24 points off the bench for the Kings. The young shooting guard has had a roller-coaster season of highs and lows, leading to a trade to the Nets a few weeks ago. In his short time in Brooklyn, the Nets have seen him catch fire and go ice cold.

There was a time, early in the 2013-14, when the Celtics led the Atlantic division, and the Nets were struggling to adjust. That time is long gone now, however.

Since January 1, the Nets are 20-8, with a .714 winning percentage that's the best in the Eastern Conference and third-best in the NBA. The Celtics have gone the other direction, at 7-23 in that span, with a .233 winning percentage, third-worst in the NBA.

After bottoming out at 11 games under .500 at the end of December, the Nets' 19-8 start to the 2014 calendar year has them back at .500 with a 29-29 record overall entering tonight's game, good enough for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, in the much tougher Western Conference, the Grizzlies currently find themselves on the outside looking in, just on the cusp of a playoff spot, half a game out of the eighth seed despite a 34-25 record, better than all but two East teams.

The Nets haven't played a game in Brooklyn since February 12, and a win today would be their fifth straight home win, and it would mean reaching the .500 mark on the season for the first time November 5, when they were 2-2 after four games.

Standing in their way is a surging Chicago team that's been a thorn in their side ever since the Nets moved to Brooklyn. The Bulls are tied with the Indiana Pacers the best record in the Eastern Conference since the start of the new calendar year.

No Nets player played more 27 minutes last night, so hopefully they'll be relatively fresh and ready to play tonight, in an arena that's been a house of horrors for them in recent years. In fact, the last time the Nets won a game at the Pepsi Center in Denver was back in January of 2007, when Jason Kidd was still suiting up at point guard.

However, Brooklyn might be catching Denver at the right time, as the Nuggets have lost eight of their last nine games, and have already ruled out a bunch of players due to injury. Nate Robinson, JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Darrell Arthur, and Wilson Chandler are all out for the Nuggets tonight, and Ty Lawson is listed as doubtful.

It will be the second and final meeting between the two teams, with Brooklyn looking to earn a season split after the Blazers won in Brooklyn back in November. The Nets are just 6-32 at Portland all-time, but they won their previous game there last March.

The Blazers are led offensively by LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, who are eighth and 13th in the NBA, respectively, in points per game. Both average over 21 PPG, and Portland is the only team in the NBA with two scorers among the top 15.

In that previous matchup back on January 8, the Nets stormed back from a 16-point deficit to complete a dramatic comeback, riding a monster fourth quarter from Kevin Garnett to snap the Warriors' 10-game win streak in stunning fashion.

Stephen Curry scored 34 points in that game, but only shot 2-of-10 from behind three-point territory, and Brooklyn was able to chip away at the lead due in large part to their bench, which outscored Golden State's reserves 36-17 in that game.

While the All-Star break may have come at a good time for the Nets, especially point guard Deron Williams, the Jazz probably wished they could've kept playing.

Prior to the break, Utah had won three straight games, including a win over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat to start that streak. Utah is just 19-33 overall, but they are 12-14 at home and 9-9 against the Eastern Conference this season.

Since January 1, the Nets have the best winning percentage (.737) in the East with their 14-5 record, while the Bulls are third-best with a .667 winning percentage (14-7 record) over that span. Chicago enters tonight as the fourth seed in the conference.

The Bulls beat the Nets by a score of 95-78 in Brooklyn back on Christmas day. Both teams have been playing great ball since then, and with just 1.5 games separating them in the conference standings, there's a lot at stake tonight at the United Center.

Charlotte has been one of the biggest surprises in the Eastern Conference this season, as rookie head coach Steve Clifford has done an outstanding job with this young Bobcats squad, keeping them right in the thick of things thus far.

The Bobcats enter tonight with a 23-29 record, which is still good enough for eighth place in the East. The Bobcats beat the Nets back in November in Charlotte, while the Nets have won their last four home games against the Bobcats, dating back to 2012.

The Pelicans enter tonight with a 22-27 record on the year, winners of two straight games. However, no two divisions in the NBA have a more dramatic difference in quality than the Nets' Atlantic division and the Pelicans' Southwest division.

At 22-26, the Nets are in second place, 3.0 games behind first-place Toronto, the only team in the Atlantic with a winning record. The Pelicans, with a virtually identical record to Brooklyn, are dead last in the Southwest. In fact, of the five Southwest division teams, the Pelicans are the only team that doesn't?have a winning record.

It will be the third meeting of the season for the two Atlantic division rivals, with each team winning a memorable game at home against one another back in December.

The Nets scored a season-high 130 points against Philly on December 16, with Joe Johnson tying an NBA record with eight of his 10 three-pointers in a 29-point third quarter, as the Nets set a franchise record with 21 made three-pointers.

Brooklyn has won a season-high six straight games at home, while the Mavericks are 11-12 on the road. Dallas enters tonight with a 25-19 record, good for third place in the NBA's Southwest division, eighth overall in the Western Conference.

Last season, the teams split their two-game season series, with each team winning on the road. The Nets won the most recent meeting by a score of 113-96.

The Nets head into today's action with a 16-22 record, second in the Atlantic division, eighth in the NBA's Eastern Conference. The Knicks are 15-25, third in the Atlantic, tied for 10th in the East for now. The two teams squared off at the Barclays Center back on December 5, with the Knicks blowing out the Nets by a score of 113-83.

In that game, the Knicks shot 57.1% from the field and an incredible 59.3% from three-point territory, going 16-of-27 from deep. The Nets had been struggling with their perimeter defense earlier this season, and no game exemplified their defensive struggles more than that game against the Knicks.?However, in the 19 games since that blowout loss to their crosstown rivals, the Nets have allowed a shooting percentage of just 44.5%, with a 35.8% three-point shooting percentage allowed.

"I don't know. My biggest thing is to make sure that I'm healthy for anything that ... happens. I just want to take care of myself. Like I tell everyone else, I always want to be a Jet, and I want to retire a Jet. That's my stand, and that's how I'm going to keep it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n89PdPpZTqw

After struggling at home out of the gate, Brooklyn all of a sudden has won three straight at Barclays Center and has looked like a rejuvenated team since the return of point guard Deron Williams, who has averaged 18.8 points his last four games.

The Nets (9-15) are hoping for the return tonight of Brook Lopez, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury.

The Rockets are in second place in the Southwest division with an 11-5 record under coach Kevin McHale. Winners of six of their last seven games, the Rockets lead the NBA in points per game (109.0) and are second only to the Miami Heat in Offensive Rating, with 108.9 points per 100 possessions through 16 games this season.

The Nets are currently dead last in the NBA with a Defensive Rating of 106.1 through 15 games, but they may be getting a boost with Brook Lopez a game-time decision to return tonight.

While the Lakers are one of the most illustrious teams in NBA history, they are in the midst of one of their leanest stretches in franchise history. They enter tonight's game in fourth place in the Pacific division, with a 7-8 record under coach Mike D'Antoni.

The most significant aspect of this year's Laker team isn't about who's on the court, but who hasn't been. Despite a lucrative contract extension he signed this week, future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant has not been medically cleared to play this season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg last?April.

Many former Devils were in attendance including Scott Stevens, Colin White, Ken Daneyko, Jay Pandolfo and Joe Nieuwendyk.

General Manager Lou Lamoriello was also in attendance.

The Devils mustered on 14 shots on Ray Emery last night.

You can certainly chalk it up to a lack of execution on the offensive side, but it was more about what the Flyers did defensively that stymied the Devils' attack.

(Note: I realize this has nothing to do with the Devils, but every hockey fan appreciates this. Hell, every Swingers fan appreciates this.)