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, 2012Where: 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.
The Wizards are 1-2 so far on the preseason and won their last game, a 99-95 decision over the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday night. However, Washington is incredibly decimated by injuries. John Wall (knee), Nene (foot), Trevor Booker (hamstring), Emeka Okafor (illness), and Chris Singleton (shoulder) all missed Friday's game with injuries and the likelihood is that they will held out of tonight's game as well. And for the Nets, the injury report looks the same as it did for Friday's win over Philly, with MarShon Brooks (foot), Tyshawn Taylor (quad), and Jerry Stackhouse (knee) all being out.
Since that's basically it from the basketball angle of tonight's ultimately meaningless game, here I present to you readers and Nets fans, Josh Burton's Obscure Player on the Opposing Team's Preseason Roster (copyright pending). For last game, it was Dan Gadzuric on the 76ers. And for tonight, it's Shavlik Randolph on the Wizards. Besides for having a really weird, scary, and strange first name, Randolph went to Duke and was on the 76ers for three unproductive seasons before kicking around to the Blazers, Heat, and now Washington. This has been Josh Burton's Obscure Player on the Opposing Team's Preseason Roster. Sneak peek, next game's (Tuesday at Celtics) player shares his last name with a famous holiday.
Probable Lineups
WAS- Jannero Pargo (PG), Beal (SG), Webster (SF), Vesely (PF), Brian Cook (C)
NETS- D-Will (PG), Joe Johnson (SG), Gerald Wallace (SF), Kris Humphries (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
Final Thoughts
Have I mentioned that I'm excited yet? Today is just another major milestone for the Brooklyn Nets franchise that is soon to be conquered and puts an almost-complete (fully-complete on November 1st) seal to the New Jersey era of the team as we welcome the Brooklyn one with wide-open arms. I'm also excited to see how the arena will run on a game-day, something that hasn't been done yet. Will the lines be ridiculous like at the Prudential Center? Will the food, needing to be mass-produced quickly be good? And most importantly, will the team be fun to watch and erase our minds of the brutal play, especially at home, that the Nets are at fault for from the past few years? Our questions will be answered tonight, and it's about time.
Random Prediction: Mirza Teletovic will score 15 points. He didn't play well on Saturday, so Avery will probably give him the time to make up for it tonight. And I'm sure he'll want to play well in front of his new home fans.