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| It's here, took long enough. |
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.
Ok, down to actual basketball. The Nets should have most of their roster healthy and available for tonight's game save for MarShon Brooks (foot), Tyshawn Taylor (quad), and Jerry Stackhouse (knee). Philly is also shorthanded, as new additions Andrew Bynum (knee), Dorell Wright (rest) , and Jason Richardson (rest) all won't be in the line-up as well, with famous draft bust Kwame Brown starting in Bynum's stead.
As this is obviously the Nets' preseason opener, we have no other game experience to view this team with since they haven't played as a full team (not counting summer league) since last April, and that team was a shell of the current incarnation of the Nets.
However, the 76ers played their 1st preseason game on Thursday night with a 102-95 win over the Magic in Orlando on the strength of 27 points from Jrue Holiday and 22 points off the bench from summer signing Nick Young. Fun fact of note about Philly: Former Net great Dan Gadzuric, who played 14 games with the Nets in the 2010-11 season after coming over in the Troy Murphy to Golden State trade, is on the 76ers and might even play tonight!
Probable Lineups
NETS- D-Will (PG), Joe Johnson (SG), Gerald Wallace (SF), Kris Humphries (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
PHI- Holiday (PG), Ivey (SG), Turner (SF), Hawes (PF), Kwame Brown (C)
Final Thoughts
Even though no one on Earth will be able to watch tonight's game other than the few thousand expected to be in attendance in Atlantic City, I will be following diligently on Twitter and ESPN GameCast to see how this new collection of players will be able to mesh with each other, even in a preseason contest that doesn't count at all.
Random Prediction: Brook Lopez gets more than five rebounds. I know it's a stretch but this is a new team, so I'll be optimistic.
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