Nets Cut Roster to 15 By Waiving Carleton Scott and James Mays

James Mays (pictured above) and Carleton Scott just didn't get enough of a chance with the Nets in preseason to warrant a roster spot. They probably will start the season with the team's D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor.

The Nets trimmed down their roster to the maximum size for the start of the regular season, 15 players in total, by waiving James Mays and Carleton Scott yesterday. Mays and Scott, who were brought into training camp by the Nets on unguaranteed deals, didn't get much of a chance to play with the Nets and will most likely start the year in the D-League, with the Armor.

Preseason Game 6 Recap: New York Knicks 97, Brooklyn Nets 95 (OT)

With a 22-point game in just 27 minutes, it looks like D-Will has finally found his shooting stroke, a stroke that wasn't present much of last season and even in this year's preseason as well.

A missed MarShon Brooks lay-up with the few seconds of overtime ticking away sealed the Nets' fate in their last preseason game for 2012 at Nassau Coliseum with a loss against that team in the "other" borough, the Knicks.

Wednesday's game was, simply put, determined by runs and streaks. The Nets had the first one in their favor, leading by a score of 23-16 after the first quarter. The Knicks had the next run, a more extended one, overcoming the Nets lead in the second quarter, held the lead by halftime, and then added on to that lead in the third quarter. The Nets shot back in the fourth quarter, going on a 17-3 run from 7:37 left in the quarter all the way until there was just one minute remaining in the final period, when Brooklyn held a 86-84 advantage. Just a few seconds later, two Chris Copeland free throws tied up the game at 86, sending it into that dreaded preseason overtime.

In the extra session, the Knicks' reserves overcame those of the Nets, on the strength of a few three-pointers by Steve Novak and Mychal Thompson. Those shots led to MarShon Brooks having the ball with one, maybe two, seconds remaining in the game. Then, Brooks, who was possibly fouled on the play, saw his potential game-tying layup rim out and the game end. The loss ended the Nets' recent three-game losing streak, which neutralized their three-game winning streak to start the preseason and evened up their record at 3-3. At least these games don't count.

New York Islanders to Move to Barclays Center For 2015-16 Season

I love this old logo of the Islanders; however, it probably (note: definitely) won't be accompanying the team to Brooklyn in three years.

This has been hinted at for awhile for became official today: The NHL's New York Islanders announced that they will finish out their lease at Nassau Coliseum, which runs through the 2014-15 season, and then move to the Barclays Center for the 2015-16 season and then on for 25 years, the length of their new lease at the Barclays Center.

It's pretty far into the future and it's silly to put emphasis on the 2015-16 season when the 2012-13 season hasn't even started yet but the move of the Islanders could have a big impact on the Nets in a few years. Like with MSG, scheduling is going to get a lot more tighter with both a NBA and NHL team sharing the same arena and the exclusivity of the Barclays to just the Nets will erode away as any does when regarding one arena shared by multiple teams.

Regardless, I'm excited for the potential of a close connection between the Nets and Islanders but as a native Long Islander, am a little disappointed that the "Islanders" couldn't find a way to stay on Long Island, the very geographic entity the team name represents.

Preseason Game 6 Preview: New York Knicks (2-3) at Brooklyn Nets (3-2)

The Coliseum; certainly no Barclays Center

When: 7:30 pm; Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

Where: Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum; Uniondale, NY

TV: MSG Network

Radio: None


One week and one day (ok, eight days) from now, these two teams will play each other at the Barclays Center in both the Nets' and Knicks' season-opener and for the Nets, the first regular season game in their franchise's very limited history. However, today, the game they face each other in a game doesn't count at all in an arena that isn't even home to a NBA team, the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. 

The Coliseum calls itself home to the New York Islanders, a NHL team for those of you who don't know. That league, like the NBA at this time last year, is currently in a lockout so for the near future, tonight's game will be the only professional sports contest left to be held there in 2012, at least until the NHL work stoppage ends.

Like the Nets, the last preseason game the Knicks played was a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks lost to Philly by a score of 98-90 on Monday night while the Nets fell to the 76ers 106-96 last Friday. In their loss to Philly, New York actually got 23 points from Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton each at Melo's former college arena, the Carrier Dome, where he played while at Syracuse and where Monday's game was at. On Friday night (a game which I actually didn't recap for the site, sorry), the 76ers were paced by Thaddeus Young, who hit 11 of his 15 shots on the evening to score 24 points, while also collecting nine rebounds.

Nets Release Stephen Dennis; Trim Roster to 17

Dennis, an undrafted rookie from Kutztown, was signed by the Nets over the summer on a training camp invite

In order to continue the eventual cutdown of their roster from 18 down to the necessary 15 for the regular season, the Nets have released one of their three undrafted rookie training camp invites earlier today. Stephen Dennis, a guard who is from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, was the first to hit the cutting block as he was cut by the team.

Dennis didn't have much of a shot to make the team in the first place and didn't really get that fair of a shake, playing only limited minutes in the preseason against other teams' deep reserves. Of course, that really isn't the optimal place for a lower level player on the depth chart to make a significant impression on a coach.

Netlinked 10/22/12: Former Nets Terrence Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts Released; Nets Voted Most-Improved Team

After an All-American career at the University of Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts was a star, so it seemed like the Nets drafting him at 40th overall in 2008 was a major steal. Guess that didn't turn out exactly as expected, right?

We have some former Nets news today on Netlinked as a few former draft picks of the team were released today by their respective teams. 

First off, we have Terrence Williams who, along with Jonny Flynn, was cut today by the Detroit Pistons as a training camp invite. The Nets drafted T-Will with the 11th overall pick in the 2009 Draft out of Louisville and the guard/forward just couldn't find his place on the team, as he was traded to the Rockets midway through the 2010-11 season, just his 2nd in the New Jersey. Since then, he has bounced around from Houston to Sacramento and then finally Detroit.

A year before picking Williams, the Nets drafted Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 40th pick of the 2008 Draft, in the 2nd round out of Memphis. CDR was cut by the Lakers today but, unlike T-Will, was widely believed to have a legitimate shot at making the Lakers' squad. His skill set--bench scorer, occasional defense, consistent hustle--is one that a bunch of teams in the NBA could certainly use.

And finally, the NBA's annual survey of general managers came out today and the Nets were pretty well represented in the results. The most glaring and predictable of them? Roughly 60% of the 30 NBA GMs voted the Nets as the team that is most likely to be improved this upcoming season. Makes sense, the Nets have been flipped and turned upside down (to quote Will Smith from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") over the offseason and are a completely different team from last year, as most of you already know.

Preseason Game 5 Preview: Philadelphia 76ers (3-1) at Brooklyn Nets (3-1)

Tornike "Toko" Shengalia didn't score in the Nets' blowout loss to Boston in Brooklyn yesterday, hopefully tonight against Philly he, and the team, fare much better.

When: 7:30 pm; Friday, October 19th, 2012

Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY

TV: YES Network

Radio: None

The Nets sucked yesterday in their 30-point home loss to the Celtics in a game that reminded of the team's extremely unsuccessful 35-year stint in New Jersey. The game was in Boston control throughout and put a very sour note on the Nets' preseason after a very solid 3-0 start for the team. They look to rebound, both figuratively and literally, tonight at the Barclays Center against the Philadelphia 76ers, the team they beat in their 1st preseason game in Atlantic City, NJ last Saturday.

The 76ers are a little healthier now than they were on Saturday, as we will probably see Jason Richardson and Dorell Wright tonight as that pair didn't play against the Nets in Atlantic City. However, Andrew Bynum is still out with a knee injury for Philly. The Nets are also a bit healthier now as Tyshawn Taylor and MarShon Brooks have made their preseason debuts since the last matchup between these two teams and are certain to get some solid burn tonight.

Preseason Game 4 Recap: Boston Celtics 115. Brooklyn Nets 85

We didn't think they would win every game this season, right? The Nets got their butts handed to them on Thursday night at the Barclays Center by a Celtics team looking for revenge after they lost to the Nets in Boston two days ago. Thankfully I didn't have the chance to watch any of this game, because the box score looked pretty gruesome. At least we have another shot to rid ourselves of this awful effort that beckoned to the Nets' failed history in New Jersey on Friday back at the Barclays against the 76ers. Ugh.

Looking Ahead
The Nets stay at home and play Philadelphia in Brooklyn on Friday night. Let's hopefully get this terrible taste outside of our mouths against another divisional rival.

Preseason Game 4 Preview: Boston Celtics (1-4) at Brooklyn Nets (3-0)

Andray Blatche going up for a lay-up against the Celtics on Tuesday. The summer pick-up has been great for the Nets so far in the preseason coming off the bench, averaging 17 ppg and 7.3 rpg so far in three games.

Update: MarShon Brooks is likely to play tonight to make his preseason debut, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
  
When: 8:00 pm; Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY

TV: TNT

Radio: None

The Nets, holding an unlikely 3-0 record in the preseason as of right now, look to extend that wonderful mark in the 2nd-game of a home-and-home with the Celtics tonight at the Prudential Barclays Center in Newark Brooklyn. The starters, after a one game respite, will be back in the starting lineup facing off against a Celtics starting-five that is a veteran, but scary, bunch of players. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett may be 35 and 36 years old respectively, but that isn't even close to meaning that they won't continue to kill the Nets this year and they seemingly do every time these two teams face each other on the court.

Last game, the Nets' back-ups managed to do a pretty decent job of guarding the talented Celtics starters, with the only major exception being Paul Pierce, who scored 29 points on the game with 20 of those coming in the 1st half. The defense did a solid job on Tuesday of getting hands in the face of Boston shooters, much better than they did on Monday against the Wizards. Holding a contending team like the Celtics to under 100 points when none of your five starters enter the game is a very hard thing to do, regardless of whether the game is played in the preseason or in the regular season.

Preseason Game 3 Recap: Brooklyn Nets 97, Boston Celtics 96

The Nets certainly couldn't stop Paul Pierce tonight, but that didn't stop them a great win, one that improves their undefeated record so far in the preseason.

Halfway through the Nets' preseason slate, and they still haven't lost a game yet. That undefeated record was continued tonight in Boston as the Nets' back-ups and reserves, essentially,  beat the Celtics' starters. Since Avery Johnson wanted to give all five of the starters from Monday's win a day off for rest and recovery, five second-line players started for the Nets on Tuesday and did extremely win. Even though Paul Pierce managed to score 29 points for the game, and 20 in the 1st half alone, the Nets played good enough defense to keep them in the game and to even garner a lead late in the 4th quarter.

A few Nets made team debuts tonight and helped in the winning effort. Tyshawn Taylor, whom the Nets traded for on Draft Day this past June, returned from a quad injury to score 6 points and dole out 5 assists in 17 minutes of play. Also, veteran Jerry Stackhouse and Georgian (the country) import Tornike (Toko) Shengalia, who scored 4 and 11 points respectively.

In addition to those making their Nets debuts on guaranteed contracts, some of the team's non-guaranteed training camp invites made their team debuts (not including summer league) as well. James Mays and Stephen Dennis each played their first games with the Nets with Mays being the more productive of the two. The third of the Nets trio of non-roster training camp invitees that have never played in the NBA, Carleton Scott from Notre Dame, got a few minutes in the Nets' game in Atlantic City and collected 7 rebounds tonight, to go along with 5 points.

Preseason Game 3 Preview: Brooklyn Nets (2-0) at Boston Celtics (1-3)

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce may be the resident future Hall-of-Famers on the Celtics roster, but Rajon Rondo has arguably become their most important player.

When: 7:30 pm; Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

Where: TD Garden; Boston, MA

TV: NBA TV

The Nets head to Boston to take on the Celtics tonight at the TD Garden, looking to start off the preseason with a 3-0 record. Tonight's inter-division matchup won't nearly have the intensity of yesterday's Barclays Center debut as Avery Johnson announced earlier that none of the team's starters will play at all, with Coach Johnson wanting to let them rest and recover from the team's first-ever home game in Brooklyn.

That means the Nets will boast a starting lineup of C.J. Watson, Keith Bogans, Josh Childress, Reggis Evans, and Andray Blatche for the evening. Interestingly enough, four of those five weren't with the team last year, showing how much the bench has been turned over from the 2011-12 campaign. Another thing of note is that Nets' Georgian power forward, Tornike Shengalia, is likely to make his team debut in Boston, and will probably play around 20 minutes.

As you all probably know, the Nets won last night against the Wizards in the first NBA game ever played at the team's new home in the Barclays Center. However, the Celtics weren't as fortunate. They got absolutely gob-smacked by the 76ers in Philly on Monday night, losing by 32 in a poor all-around effort that Doc Rivers, coach of the Celtics, had to be extremely disappointed with. Boston committed 20 turnovers, shot a dreadful 61% from the free throw line, and allowed nearly 50% shooting by the opposing 76ers squad.

Preseason Game 2 Recap: Brooklyn Nets 98, Washington Wizards 88

Deron Williams, in Monday's win. He looked to distribute, instead of focusing on scoring for the Nets, which worked out pretty well.

Hey Brooklyn, ask and you shall receive. You wanted a winning NBA team, and for at least just Monday night, that's what you got. The Nets, wearing their slick road black jerseys, opened up their new home with a well-played win over the short-handed Wizards at the Barclays Center. After a sluggish 1st quarter, one in which they were losing after 12 minutes of game action, the Nets picked up the intensity and effort, clinging on to a two point lead by halftime. The 2nd half of action was much better for Brooklyn as they started to hit more shots, played better defense, and started to attack the rim more effectively.

First off, before getting into the game, let's talk about the Barclays Center during its first night of operation for an actual NBA game. The crowd wasn't as large as I thought it would be, as there were plenty of empty, jet-black seats. However, the people that were there, myself included, managed to make a lot of noise throughout with chants and cheering, something that gave the Nets a tangible home-court advantage throughout. A thing that has been lacking in New Jersey, with the majority of the fans at the game caring little about the on-court action. It's clear that's different in Brooklyn.

The crowd rose and fell with how the Nets were doing at that point in the game; cheering and chanting when they had momentum after one of Andray Blatche's monstrous jams and quietly enervating when a young Wizards team jumped out to a quick run in the 3rd quarter, cutting the Nets' lead to 1. Then, after the Nets barely clung onto a miniscule lead from that point in the 3rd into the 4th, the intensity and urgency of the Nets picked up, mirroring that of the crowd, especially those in the upper reaches of the Barclays. That lead was all for naught with 9 minutes left in the final quarter, as a Jordan Crawford jumper put Washington up by 1.

Preseason Game 2 Preview: Washington Wizards (1-2) at Brooklyn Nets (1-0)

Wait, the Brooklyn Nets are playing actual NBA basketball against another team here tonight? Awesome. And it's going to be on TV and radio? Sick. And I'm going to be there? Even better. Conclusion: I'm excited, and you should be too.

When: 7:30 pm; Monday, October 15th, 2012

Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY

TV: YES Network

Radio: None

Another first happens tonight as the Barclays Center, the Nets' much-anticipated new home arena, is christened yet again. Of course, the first NBA game to ever be played at the Barclays is tonight's Nets-Wizards preseason tilt. Sure, it's not the regular season and it's certainly not November 1st's much-hyped regular season opener vs the Knicks, but it is basketball. And it's basketball at our new home, the new home for our team and only for our team.

The last two places the Nets have played regular season home games at, the Prudential Center in Newark and the Izod Center/Continental Airlines Arena/Brendan Byrne Arena, were both in New Jersey and weren't solely occupied by the Nets. Whenever the Nets played at either of those arenas, the New Jersey Devils were tenants at the same time. But why does that matter, some might ask. Obviously, it doesn't matter during games per se but it certainly adds to the aura and mystique of a team's home games if the fans and players on the court all know that multi-million (or in the Barclays case, billion) dollar work-of-art is just for one team's use, and one team's only.

The Nets don't have that problem anymore, as tonight marks the first time in team history that they will be playing a home game in their arena, one built for them and for them alone to play in. Changing out the ice from a Friday night Devils game to prep the arena for a Saturday night Nets game? Nope, no more. Having a 1:00 pm Sunday matinee so the arena can be ready for a primetime hockey match? Long gone.

Was being co-tenants with other teams in an arena the cause for the Nets' recent struggles on the court? Definitely not, but it helps the fanbase and the players connect intimately to a team that is their own, and the arena's own.

Oh yeah, the game. I didn't forget.

Netlinked 10/15/12: We Have (Limited) Video of Saturday's First Game in Brooklyn Nets History

From Saturday's game, Brook driving to the hoop, a good sign.

Hey, who said that games needed to be televised to get clear video highlights from them? Because whoever said that, was dead wrong. Thanks to BrooklynFans.com, the first-ever Brooklyn Nets basket--a dunk by Kris Humphries--and other high-points for the Nets from the game on Saturday were caught on video. Sure, it's not nearly the full game, but with the Barclays Center home opener two hours away, I can get as much Nets basketball as I can at this point.

Preseason Game 1 Recap: Brooklyn Nets 108, Philadelphia 76ers 105 (OT)

A rare pic from the completely unbroadcasted game (via NetsDaily.com). Wouldn't you think that a team's 1st game ever would get covered by the TV station they earn a lot of money for (that being the YES Network)?

I'll keep the debut (preseason) game recap of the year short because all my knowledge of tonight's win is derived from ESPN's box score and tweets from writers/bloggers who were at the game. Supposedly, the Nets' starters did extremely well as they outscored the 76ers by a score of 58-37 in the 1st and 3rd quarters combined (those are the quarters in which the starting-five were together on the floor the most). Each of the Nets' starters (other than Kris Humphries for unknown reasons) played at least 26 minutes with every one of those 26-minutes+ players showcasing extremely solid statlines. However, the most important stat of note from the game was Brook Lopez' nine rebounds.

So after most of the starters came out after the 3rd quarter ended, the Nets held a pretty comfortable 79-64 lead. Then, in the 4th quarter, the worst happened. The Nets bench couldn't really score (16 points in the 4th on 6-18 shooting) and didn't play much defense either (gave up 31 points on 9-15 shooting). You do the math, and that leads to a dead-tie after the period, with both the Nets and the 76ers at 95 points apiece. You ask what the worst thing to happen in a preseason game other than an injury is? Overtime.

Well, in the extra five-minute overtime session, the Nets' reserves outscored the Philly reserves 13-10, leading to a final of 108-105, in Brooklyn's favor of course. An Andray Blatche jumper with 27 ticks remaining put the Nets up 106-105, and C.J. Watson finished off the scoring with a few free throws after a missed Nick Young jumper. Young also missed a three-pointer with 2 seconds left to seal the 76ers' fate and to give the Nets the 1st win in Brooklyn Nets' history.

Preseason Game 1 Preview: Brooklyn (!) Nets (0-0) at Philadelphia 76ers (0-0)

It's here, took long enough.

When: 7:00 pm; Saturday, October 13th, 2012

Where: Atlantic City Convention Center; Atlantic City, NJ

TV: None

Radio: None

Folks and fellow Nets fans, it's finally here. Tonight, Saturday the 13th of October in the year 2012, is the official date of the 1st-ever game played by the Brooklyn Nets franchise. No, it isn't being broadcast on TV anywhere. No, it's not being played in Philly, or in Brooklyn for that matter. No, Andrew Bynum, MarShon Brooks, Tyshawn Taylor, and possibly others won't be playing due to injuries. It just is what it is.

And what might that be? Oh, that's Nets basketball. Sure, we won't have highlights or any clue on how hard Gerald "Crash" Wallace played defense or how well Deron Williams shot the ball outside of the the box score. That's certainly a let-down but honestly, this preseason game being played in a place known more for gambling and crime (i.e: Boardwalk Empire on HBO starring Brooklyn native Steve Buscemi) than basketball is more of a symbolic entity than a game to make conclusions from.

It symbolizes the end of the offseason and the return to legitimate, inter-team games and most importantly, a birth. Not a physical birth, but an emotional birth, especially for those of us die-hard Nets fans who dealt with the low points in New Jersey and are finally going to get the chance to experience some damn high points for once in Brooklyn. Nearly everything is new with this team: the jerseys, most of the players, the arena, the name, the identity, etc. But one thing hasn't changed and that is, of course, the deep attachment we feel to our Nets, which makes us a fan.

MarShon Brooks Aggravates Foot Injury, Preseason Return Doubtful

Another season, another injury for the Nets

Bad news coming out of Nets' camp today as the team announced, via Twitter, that sophomore shooting guard, and noted swaggerking, MarShon Brooks has aggravated a prior right foot injury and will be out for 7-10 days. This means that Brooks probably won't play in any of the team's six preseason games for precautionary reasons but that he will most likely be fine for the regular season opener on November 1st.

The Nets, always a team that has extreme issues in staying healthy, can't really afford for their best bench scoring option in Brooks to be out of the line-up for a long time so they need him for their much-anticipated meeting with the Knicks in the official NBA christening of the Barclays Center. Makes sense to hold him out of the meaningless preseason.

Why the Site Has Been A Little Light Lately

If you are wondering why Brooklyn Balling has been a little devoid on content lately, it's because I have officially signed on as the Senior NBA Editor of Sports Gab Network's Basketball Division, specifically to head the Slam Dunk Central site. Because of this new position, I won't have the time to write as much on here as I would like.

However, I do realize that the NBA season is just around the corner and I'm still a Nets fan and season-ticket holder, so I will continue to do my normal game coverage for the Nets and of course additional features and news on the team throughout the season. The problem is I'm not sure where those articles will be posted. I am in discussions with SGN's head editor to serve as their Nets beat writer in addition to being the Senior NBA Editor of Slam Dunk Central as well.

But as of this second, nothing is set in stone with my Nets coverage for SGN so if this situation doesn't change until November 1st, I will still be covering the Nets on Brooklyn Balling, just not as much as I did for last year's season. Just saying, this doesn't mean in any way that Brooklyn Balling is less of a priority for me than it was before, it's just that I have other writing responsibilities now that I have to deal with. For the few of you that do read Brooklyn Balling, thanks for sticking with the site through thick and thin and just remember that I'm not going anywhere. Let's Go Nets!

Netlinked 10/8/12: Preseason Begins (For Other NBA Teams), Nets Have 1st Barclays Practice, Gerald Wallace Afraid of NYC

A-V-E-R-Y coaching up his new team at the new digs

It's official, the NBA preseason for the 2012-13 season has officially started. Well, to be fair, it started on Friday night when the Celtics lost to Fenerbahce, a Turkish team that has two players which the Nets hold the draft rights to. Those guys are Ilkan Karaman and Bojan Bogdanovic, who combined to score 15 points in their team's stunning upset of Boston.

There were also a bunch of games on Saturday and Sunday including Nets South (the Atlanta Hawks) beating the Heat and LeBron (no Wade due to injury) and the Nuggets beating the LA Clippers in Las Vegas on a buzzer-beating layup by Ty Lawson. However, unfortunately, the Nets don't open up their preseason circuit until this upcoming Saturday, October 13th, in Atlantic City, NJ against the 76ers.

Shot Analysis: Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson's deathscare is pretty scary. At least the body that's attached to that face can shoot.

This is the 2nd in a series I'm doing analyzing shot charts of the more important Nets (sans Brook Lopez because of his limited play last year) and how they fared from the field last season. We continue with one of the newest Nets, Joe Johnson. Deron Williams was analyzed last.

Blah blah blah Iso-Joe, we've heard it all. Ever since the trade Joe Johnson this summer, us Nets fans have been hearing all of these writers, bloggers, and analysts talk about how overpaid he is, how much he shoots, how bad he is on defense, how the Hawks never succeeded in the playoffs with him, blah blah blah blah blah. I, personally don't want to hear it anymore.

Joe is a star shooting guard, undoubtedly one of the best pure shooters in the NBA right now. However, he is still widely labeled as overrated even though he has averaged at least 18 points per game in the last seven seasons of his career.

Interestingly enough, only 4 other NBA players have averaged 18 ppg over that same time-span from the 2005-06 season until last season, 2011-12. (Noted: This list contains only players that QUALIFIED for the scoring championship in each of those seasons by having enough shot attempts. That's why Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce aren't included). Who might those 4 players be?