Check out the top 10 Deron Williams plays of the 2012-13 season.

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In a post on their official Facebook page, the Brooklyn Nets announced that in celebration of receiving 1,000,000 "Likes" on Facebook, they'd like to thank you, the fan, personally. Pretty cool.

If you leave your name and number with the Nets on their Facebook app, the organization will personally call you and thank you for being a fan of the team.

Click here to fill out the form for your call.

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In an interview with Joan Rivers - Fashion Police, Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo opens up about the fight he got into with Kris Humphries on November 28th in Boston.

In that situation, it's a heated game," Rondo said. "I think I'm going to war with him. I'm out there competing. Which we are, in a sense. I thought he made a dirty play on my teammate and I wasn't trying to start a fight.

"It was a pushing war, that was about it. It got carried into the stands. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't have a problem with Kris Humphries."

Rondo was suspended two games for his role in the fight. Humphries was not suspended.

Many thanks to intrepid sports journalist Joan Rivers for getting to the bottom of the Rajon Rondo-Kris Humphries beef/non-beef.

Video of the fight in November below.

The post Rajon Rondo talks to Joan Rivers about fighting Kris Humphries because that’s apparently a thing people do appeared first on The Brooklyn Game.

Today's three things to watch for The BK Playoff Game in tonight's Game 2 Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers matchup:

1) Another close game. My official "prediction," which is as official as a stick of gum, was that the Miami Heat would sweep the Indiana Pacers in four very close games. One down, three to go. After a back-and-forth regulation ended with a 30-foot bomb to tie the game at 92 from Pacers forward Paul George, a raucous overtime ended with LeBron James laying in an uncontested layup in 2.2 seconds as time expired to win at the buzzer, 103-102. I'd be surprised if this one didn't come down to the final minute, either.

2) Another LeBronathon. Hard to be humble when you stuntin' on the jumbotron. A calm, unsmiling James recorded his first triple-double of the playoffs in Game 1, with an oddly nonchalant 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, adding three blocks to the party. James began the game hitting contested midrange fadeaways and ended it with the aforementioned game-winning layup. There's no player that can bend the court with his combination of court vision, scoring, and passing ability like James, and his full-court impact both opened and closed the game for Miami. Will that reflect in the statistics again?

3) More chippy play. It's amazing that only one technical foul was called in Game 1, frankly. With two shots to player *ahem* midsections, one of those players being offseason boxer David West, it's a miracle that no one was tossed from the game. With even more on the line for a desperate Indiana team and possible retaliation on their mind, expect an even more physical game -- until the officials step in.

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Former Brooklyn Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo thinks Mikhail Prokhorov's goal of winning a championship in the next two years isn't realistic with the team's current roster.

"That's a heavy load for anybody, not just for Brooklyn," Carlesimo said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. "I don't know if that's realistic the way the roster is right now. I would not say that team could not win a championship. We thought we could this year if things broke a little better for us. But if you have that on your plate, that you need to win a championship in two years, I think it makes it a little challenging."

Carlesimo added that the Nets aren't one of the favorites -- duh -- but did lop praise on Brooklyn, saying they're a 50-win team that "could do well, particularly in the Eastern Conference."

After firing Avery Johnson, the Nets went 35-19 under Carlesimo in the regular season before losing in seven games to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. Carlesimo was let go the next day.

This statement isn't particularly new or controversial. If doing well means "they have the potential to get as far as playing Miami before getting swept," I'd agree. The Nets locked into a good-not-great core last year. We knew they weren't a championship team from the outset, not as long as the Heat were still in the East and the Thunder in the West (though they did beat OKC emphatically earlier this season).

A better coach and better system could help them improve, but there's still a ceiling there. Despite their publicized goal, the point of "win now" isn't to win a championship immediately (although that would be great), it was to erase the stench of New Jersey's losses from the franchise. That won't happen overnight, but winning -- even if it's just games, not championships -- helps.

ESPN New York -- P.J. on Avery's firing, Part I

New York Daily News -- PJ Carlesimo isn't buying into the narrative for why he was fired: "People spin things the way they want to do it."

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by MrNykes via Instagram

Judging from the number of Nets hats one sees in the streets of Kings County, it sure seems that the Brooklyn Nets have captured the imagination of Brooklyn.

But there’s some statistical evidence that the Nets are not yet fully a Brooklyn team.

First, just 16.7 percent of those who watched the Nets on YES Network are from Brooklyn, according to information provided The Brooklyn Game by Scarborough Research. By contrast, 30.7 percent were from New Jersey, and 46 percent came from New York City as a whole. (Chart below)

Second, The Brooklyn Game's own web traffic follows a roughly similar pattern. Our recent user survey indicated that 26 percent or our readers come from Brooklyn vs. 40 percent from New Jersey. Our site traffic is in the same zone, and, according to Tweetsmap.com, 30.8 percent of @TheBKGame followers come from New York City. In the state breakdown, 35 percent come from New York State compared to 14.7 in New Jersey.

The Nets declined to provide numbers on the geographic distribution of ticket buyers.

But the available statistics all indicate that the majority of active Brooklyn Nets fans are not from Brooklyn.

In a way, it's not surprising. If you were an ultra-serious basketball fan living in Brooklyn for the last few decades, you rooted for the Knicks, you didn’t sit out the season in the hope that some day Brooklyn would have a team. So the Nets started off with a problem: the Brooklynites who cared most about basketball already had other loyalties. Then, unfortunately for the Nets, the Knicks chose this year to get good again, making it less likely that grumpy, Dolan-hating Knicks fans would jump ship to the new team. Meanwhile, it's to be expected that many New Jerseyans who had stuck with the Nets during the lean years would stay with the new-improved version.

Perhaps we should just rejoice that the Brooklyn/Jersey Nets are a "national team" – what with the cool logo and the Jay-Z ownership.

On the other hand, despite the self-evident awesomeness of Nets fans, there are at least two signs that the situation is less than ideal. The Emory Sports Marketing Analytics study ranked the Nets dead last in fan involvement. It may not feel that way to those chanting Brooooook-lyn in the middle of Barclays -- or to the many who creatively "Rep Your Nets" each week -- but the folks at Emory argue that the most objective way to compare across cities is to look at the dollars spent relative what would be projected based on the population and other factors.

And while there's no precise way of knowing how fan intensity might affect a team, it is worth noting that the Nets had one of the worst home court advantage differentials in the league. As Devin wrote earlier, "Per 100 possessions, Brooklyn is only 1.7 points better at home than on the road, a margin that's only better than one team -- the 20-62 Orlando Magic, the team with the league's worst overall record."

Even if the diffuseness of the Nets fan base doesn't relate to either "brand equity" or the home court performance, it can't be a good thing in the long run that Brooklyn -- a city of 2.5 million people -- isn't supplying the bulk the Brooklyn Nets' fans.

Are there things the Nets could do to better penetrate the borough?

The Nets already conduct a variety of community events around the borough, especially with young people. And Barclays has made a point of using local Brooklyn food.

Personally, I think it would help if even a Net or two lived in Brooklyn, as several of the Brooklyn Dodgers did.

And it would be nice if the Forest City Ratner folks keep their promises about the development. Otherwise, some portion of Brooklyn will feel like rooting for the Nets is an endorsement of dishonest business practices.

[Note to Brooklyn readers: What else should the Nets do?]

This is just the first year in Brooklyn. Perhaps its not shocking that the Nets don't have Dodgers-like penetration. But the team should at least realize that the whole borough is not going hard for the Nets just yet.

Source, Scarborough Research, NY DMA (2013, Release 1)

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via Stefan Bondy:

Just got off phone with CJ Watson's former agent, Jared Karnes, who says Watson switched to the Nets players' rep of choice, Excel Sports

— Stefan Bondy (@NYDNInterNets) May 21, 2013

Brooklyn Nets backup guard C.J. Watson has left Jared Karnes's a3 Agency and joined Excel Sports, which also represents Brooklyn Nets players Mirza Teletovic, Tyshawn Taylor, and Deron Williams (as well as free agent Jerry Stackhouse).

Watson has a player option for the 2013-14 season worth a little over $1 million. According to a3, Ramon Sessions is now the only NBA player they represent.

Watson averaged 6.8 points and 2.0 assists in 19.0 minutes per game this season, shooting 41.8% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range.

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Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. (AP)

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge rebuffed the Brooklyn Nets when they inquired about interviewing Doc Rivers for their open coaching position, according to ESPN Boston.

Rivers had been one of the coaches on Brooklyn's short list, and he was reportedly considering not coming back to Boston after this season ended. Since Rivers is still under contract, the Nets would need permission from Ainge & the Celtics to interview Rivers, who has been Boston's coach since the 2004-05 season.

It was unlikely that the Celtics would allow Rivers to interview with a division rival, but their flat refusal would indicate that they expect Rivers will be around for the duration of his contract, which runs through the 2015-16 season and pays him a total of $21 million.

Ainge refused to publicly comment on Brooklyn's interest. "Doc has told me he's coming back," Ainge told ESPN Boston. "I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward."

ESPN Boston -- Danny Ainge says no to Nets

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Phil Jackson (AP)

Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson has already spurned Brooklyn's offer to become the next Brooklyn Nets head coach, saying he has no interest in returning to coaching. But that hasn't stopped him from talking about the franchise on more than one occasion.

After saying to Dan Patrick earlier this week that Brooklyn was the most attractive destination coaching-wise, Jackson expounded on his comments by commending Brooklyn's roster in the New York Times, saying that he prefers it to the New York Knicks:

“The Knicks still have to find some accommodating group of guys that know how to play ball together, move the ball, play the game the right way,” he said. “With Brooklyn, if you’ve got a point guard and a solid center, or a good point guard and a great center, you’ve got two of the pieces that you want to have toward a champion.”

The Nets lost in the first round of the NBA playoffs to the Chicago Bulls in seven games, while the Knicks made it to the second round before losing to the Indiana Pacers in six. The Nets also have a roster better suited for Jackson's famed triangle offense, which may be why he prefers them.

Jackson has repeated that he's interested in returning to the NBA in an organizational capacity, but not on the sidelines. He was not offered a front office job in Brooklyn.

Harvey Araton, New York Times -- Teams Need Help, but Jackson Stays on the Perimeter

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Brook Lopez (AP)

Now's where you chime in that statistics aren't everything and that Dwight is a better rebounder/defender. Sure, statistics aren't everything, but they are something, and it is hard to imagine that most of the 119 voters got to watch all the players being voted on consistently enough to not rely heavily on stats in their voting.

As for Dwight, Dwight IS a better rebounder and defender than Brook. Hell, Dwight IS a better player than Brook. When healthy, motivated and out of his approval-seeking head, Dwight Howard IS one of the top five basketball players on the planet; not sure about the universe if you include the Monstars, but I digress. Dwight, however, was not healthy and right of mind this season and Brook out played him.  Remember, this is the All-NBA team from this season, not for any other season or for career achievement.

If you want to go the team's performance/narrative route, Lopez wins there as well. The Nets went 49-33, four games better than Dwight's 45-37 Lakers team. The Lakers were a newly constructed roster with a rash of injuries and a mid-season coaching change. The Nets didn't have the injuries the Lakers had, but they were newly put together and did have the turmoil of a coaching change; in addition, Brooklyn's best player, Deron Williams, played at a significantly reduced rate for half the season before joining the All-Plasma team at the All-Star break.  Dwight did lose Kobe Bryant, but that was in the final five games of the season, and Kobe played well enough to earn First Team All-NBA honors, a quality of sidekick Brook never had.

Throughout an at-times chaotic first season in Brooklyn, Brook provided consistently excellent play and served as the team's anchor. For this subjective reason, combined with the more empirical arguments of statistics, Brook Lopez deserved to be the Nets first All-NBA team selection since Jason Kidd in 2004.

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