The Brooklyn Nets take on the defending world champs tonight at 7:30. Here’s what is important.
TV: For the first time this regular season, the Brooklyn Nets won’t be on National Television. Well, excuuuuuuuse me. Tonight’s game will be featured on the YES Network and WFAN radio.
Starters: Since we’ve heard no change on a Brooklyn lineup, the Nets are expected to start Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Keith Bogans, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez tonight. Bogans will start in place of the injured Gerald Wallace. Miami will be going with the usual starting lineup Mario Chalmers, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Shane Battier and Chris Bosh.
Season Standings: The Nets are 1-1 after blowing a 22-point lead to Minnesota Monday night, while the Heat have won 3 games in classic fashion, and blew one in an emotional post-Sandy Knicks opener.
The Nets will win if... They manage to hold the Heat to under 90 points. The Nets have given up over 100 points in the last two games. Brooklyn is a very good offensive team and will be able to secure a win if they can at least try and stop the Heat. This probably isn’t going to happen.
The Nets will lose if... The Heat play like the Heat and go on an offensive terror all night. The Nets are not a good defensive team right now and Miami will likely take advantage of that. If the Heat put up a regular Heat game, they will probably win.
In NBA 2K13: Nets... uh... win? Yup, even without Gerald Wallace, in my simulation the Nets beat the Heat 117-114 in 48 minutes of hellscape back-and-forth basketball. MarShon Brooks started and hit the game-clinching three with 10.7 seconds left, finishing with 18 points. D-Will dropped a superstar-esque 30 points and 14 assists in 40 minutes, Joe Johnson chipped in an efficient 22, and despite a herculean 46-point effort from Dwyane Wade, the Nets eked it out. Nets 2K13 record: 3-0 2K13 prediction record: 1-1
Nets fall to 3-2 in the preseason. Tonight's contest featured some positives, some negatives and lots of shaky defense. The game was close back and forth throughout, and would have probably been a lot closer had it actually been a regular season game. Again, #WeTalkinBoutPreseason.
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Deron Williams: Four assists doesn't do his distributing tonight justice. Was passing the ball first all night and was able to knock down some big shots. Found a lot of open looking from setting picks and posting up down low. He was great off the ball. Didn't shoot very well from behind the arc, and seemed a pretty sloppy on fast breaks. Grade: B+
Joe Johnson: Started off slow, but got hot in the 4th quarter. Saw some of the good parts of Iso-Joe, and has seemed to develop some good chemistry from D-Will. Grade: B+
Gerald Wallace: Not the insane Crash we've seen all preseason, but a solid offensive performance nonetheless. Dorrell Wright got the better of his match-up, however, and didn't win the rebound battle. Grade: C
Kris Humphries: Poor shooting. Very poor shooting. Rimmed out a lot of jumpers, but didn't get a lot of minutes. Victim of preseason rotation. Grade: D
Brook Lopez: Love what I've seen out of Lopez this preseason. Scoring all over the court, nailed some nice hook shots and backdown jumpers. Defensively, he still isn't where we'd like him to be, but it's going to be a work in progress. Rebounding numbers were just fine, and it's great to see him actually go after those balls. What he brings to the Nets offense, especially after a season with Shelden Williams, is just staggering. Grade: B+
Andray Blatche: Really impressing me so far. Tonight, he wasn't as on point as in previous games, but still is a great presence down low and has the ability to score anywhere in and around the paint. He missed some shots he should have made. Grade: C+
C.J. Watson: Played a lot off-the-ball tonight. At point, he was pretty frustrating. Too slow in transition, and didn't take open shots. Missed a lot of opportunities on the weak side. I want to see him shoot more, especially when he is open around the arc. Grade: C-
MarShon Brooks: Not sure what took him so long to come off the bench. He could be hurt, he could not know the rotations, he could just be a victim of an Avery experiment. However, when he was on the court, he was vintage MarShon, making some nice jumpers and taking good shots. Grade: B+
Since most of us were unable to watch tonight's Brooklyn Nets debut, I've compiled tweets from those who were in attendance. Here is your first official preview of this years Nets!
Updates from ESPN New York's Mike Mazzeo from Nets practice. Everyone should definitely be regularly checking his ESPN New York Nets blog as they provide some great feature stories. Here are some one's that I liked personally on D-Will's promise, Stackhouse's new role and Joe Johnson talking his trade.
This nets.com business is very confusing. It looks like a jab at Prokhorov from Cuban, but Yahoo! is say it isn't. Oh well. Just take a look for yourself.
One of the many awesome things that will happen on Opening Night will be an appearance by living members of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ralph Branca, who pitched for the Dodgers for 11 seasons, will be the guest of honor. Of course, this is an incredibly symbolic gesture for the Nets. Of Nets owner Jay-Z, Branca said: "It's not music. It's just noise!"
Speaking of practice, the Nets also had a session today as well. Apparently, Andray Blatche and Tyshawn Taylor both sustained injuries, but according to Avery Johnson, both are minor.
Well, today is the day we have all been waiting for... at least one of the days. Tonight, Jay-Z will open up the Barclays Center with one of eight concerts that will take place over the next two weeks. Tickets are sold out officially, but you can still get into the show thanks to the likes (and surcharges) of StubHub. I saw Jay-Z last year on the Watch the Throne tour and anyone who is even a remote fan of the guy -- and lives near the arena, of course -- should definitely get a seat. The Nets jerseys may also be unveiled tonight, as if we haven't already seen them.
OK, OK: They didn't get Dwight. But the Nets did just enough, by trading for Joe Johnson and signing a slew of others, to convince D-Will to stay, ship a watchable team to their gleaming new Brooklyn palace and give themselves a shot at finishing higher than the Knicks. It's a start.
Anyone thinking this Nets team has no personality obviously forgot about Reggie Evans. Here is a rookie hazing moment captured by the dominating rebounder pranking former Jayhawk Tyshawn Taylor.
If you were like me and tried to buy your tickets for the November 1 season opener at 10 a.m. today, you were treated to the message saying there are no more available tickets. Completely gone. Am I crazy for paying $200 for scalper seats on StubHub? I have now reached that level of desperation...
The Adidias Store at the Barclays Center is now officially open. The store debuted at 10 a.m. this morning outside the arena. Brook Lopez and MarShon Brooks signed autographs for the grand opening for fans. The team store sells Nets gear of all types, and will be selling jerseys as soon as they are released to the public.
As the new NBA 2K game approaches, trailers and videos are released. And as trailers and videos are released, things get leaked. When things get leaked, we get to see the new Nets uniforms.
At the four minute mark of the above video, this image appears:
With the NBA season soon coming and the back to school stench in the air, it seems only natural to check out how the Nets are preparing. In an imaginary world where NBA players attend basketball prep school, here’s some courses & required reading we suggest.
Prerequisite reading:If you aren't sick of Nets are Scorching Joe Johnson coverage by now, then you probably never will be. (Woo!) If there's one thing we've learned about Johnson since July 3rd, it's that he's is a pretty chill guy. His mild-mannered demeanor, his rare smile, his "Yeah, I'm a little nervous to throw out the first pitch at the Yankee game tonight" attitude. Joe isn't the glasses-with-no-lenses type. He isn't a finger-waving, rim-hanging showboater. He's just Joe Johnson. Flashless Joe Johnson.
But it doesn't have to be like that. His swaggerless swagger could use some swagger. All the all-time greats had it, and despite what some people may say about him and his huge contract, he is a great basketball player. If there was ever a time for him to cross over into the next level of basketball heights, it's now, playing on arguably the best roster he's ever played with. For Joe Johnson, I'm going to assign one of my favorite basketball books, with a title as boring as his name: The Book of Basketball by Grantland's Bill Simmons. The book itself is a mammoth and full of obnoxious basketball stats. But one section in particular will help: Simmons' 96 Greatest Players of All Time. The basketball pyramid. In the pyramid, he'll read not just a list of great players, but analysis, accolades and all the reasons that make them a member of the 96 Great. It's no surprise that while he is a great player, Johnson is not one of the 96. At this point in his career, barring a borderline maniacal run, it is highly unlikely he'll get there. But it wouldn't hurt to study up on the legends and do what allowed them to excel.
Film studies: Basketball culture in Phoenix, 2005. My freshman year of college, my Introduction to Fiction professor taught us how to write short stories using his own book. First, we read the book and dissected each story. We told him what worked in each story and what sucked about each story. My sophomore year, the same professor taught us how to write a novel using his own novel. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
I'm assigning Joe Johnson something similar. Once, he was on a dominant team. For a single NBA season, he was on top of the world. The year I'm referring to, of course, is the 2005 Phoenix Suns.
There are an awful lot of similarities between that 2005 Suns team and this 2012 Nets team. Both are run by a pass-first point guard that can score (Steve Nash/Deron Williams). Both have big men known for their scoring as much as they are known for their underwhelming rebounding (Amar'e Stoudamire/Brook Lopez). Both have high energy, high rebounding, high hustle, all-around forwards (Shawn Marion/Gerald Wallace/Kris Humphries). One finished with 62 wins.
I'm not going to sit here and say, "Do what you did your last year in Phoenix and you will have a season as good as you did back then." That would be foolish and unrealistic. But I don't think it's unreasonable to look at both of these rosters, see the similarities, and figure out what works. The Nets are not a defensive powerhousem and it would be silly for Coach Avery Johnson to think otherwise. By playing this Nets team to its strengths, something great could happen.
For the first time in six seasons, Johnson is playing on one of the best offensive teams in the league. Between Johnson, Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez, that's four players who could score 20 points on any given night. Add in bench players Mirza Teletovic, CJ Watson, and MarShon Brooks, and this Nets team is full of fast, athletic scorers who complement Johnson, like the starters and role players on the 2005 Suns. His talent blends in. Can this Nets team score enough and are they fast enough to run the floor and play consistent offense, even if it means the defense suffers? Absolutely. The Suns averaged 108 points per game last year, ranking first, and gave up 102 points per game, ranking 28th. They won 62 games. It can be done again, and this is the team to do it.
So watch that team. Remember what it was like to play with that team. Remember the role. Study the film and figure out a way to sell Coach Avery Johnson on switching his defensive focus to a run-and-gun uptempo offense. Think about those D-Will oops, those Brook Lopez dunks, those Gerald Wallace... antics, those silky Joe Johnson jumpers. This will be Joe Johnson's dream season. (Actual video starts at 1:17)
Elective: 1%er Ethics.Course description: Does the media think you are making too much money? Are you being ruthlessly, verbally attacked on social media over the contract that was offered to you by inept general managers? Unsure how to fully prove you are (Insert Name), and not (Insert Name With a Lucrative Deal)? Here, you will learn how to put the critics away and fully enjoy the money you earn. Learn how to live up to your values and make the most out of your role on your team. (Prerequisite: Must live in Brooklyn and have bought an expensive baller pad so a big dent of your money is already gone.)
Class list also includes Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries.
Student notes: Joe Johnson is an above average shooting guard, highly regarded among his peers. Johnson is a 17.8 point per game scorer for his career at a 44.4% field goal percentage. Johnson could use some improvement as a consistent lockdown defender, and cutting down unwarranted isos. A change of scenery, to Brooklyn, could help with this. Entering his 12th year in the league, this is great time to witness a revitalization of an already great player.
Childress' best years came as a member of the member of the Atlanta Hawks, and in the 2007 season, he 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 29.9 minutes as a bench player.
He left the NBA following that year to play for the Greece for Olympiacos B.C. for two seasons. Childress has also battled knee injuries.
For a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, I think this is a steal for the Nets. If Childress can stay healthy and return somewhere near to his Atlanta-form, he will contribute off the bench. I would also be very surprised if Childress does not make the team.
This signing is also notable for being the second amnesty signing following Andray Blatche.
DeronWilliams: Coach K is an incredible leader. Playing for him and representing my country has been a blessing in my career and I'm glad he will be back 4 hours ago
