Nets, Knicks ready for big
The Nets aren’t feeding into the hype. They’re already 0-1 to start the season, and they don’t want to fall to 0-2, no matter who the opponent is.
Beating the Knicks to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in free agency doesn’t give the Nets any added juice to beat their cross-bridge counterpart on the court.
“I wouldn’t say we’re looking at it that way,” Joe Harris said after shootaround on Thursday. “I think you treat it like you do every opponent in this league.”
“Not at all,” Spencer Dinwiddie added. “It’s going to be a Brooklyn Nets team trying to get their first win.”
And no, the planned giveaway of 10,000 Kyrie Irving jerseys for Game 2 against the Knicks wasn’t the doing of anyone on the roster: “I have nothing to do with the marketing,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They don’t ask me. They don’t ask me anything”
Obviously the Knicks aren’t just another opponent. They’re the Nets’ rivals, and will be so long as the two teams occupy space in the same city. But even though the Nets won in the race to star power this off-season, they aren’t glossing over their opponent in the moments leading up to their rivalry game at Barclays Center on Friday night.
The Nets are coming off a disappointing, yet energizing loss in the season-opener against the Timberwolves, a game Kyrie Irving was absolutely electric, scoring 50 points to drag the Nets down from 18, only to miss the game-winning buzzer beater in overtime.
The Knicks don’t have a KarlAnthony Towns on the roster, but the Nets respect the team their rivals have put together after striking out on marquee talent over the summer.
“Even though they didn’t get the guys that they wanted in free agency, they still signed some really quality players,” Harris said. “They have a great team. Very tough, physical, talented.”
“They have a lot of young players. They’re starting a lot of guys that have been in the league a long time and can really put the ball in the basket,” added DeAndre Jordan, who appeared in 19 games with the Knicks last season. “Tomorrow we’re going to have to guard a lot in the post with [Bobby Portis] and [Julius Randle] and [Marcus Morris]. Those guys can really go.”
Spencer Dinwiddie took it a step further. He rattled off almost every Knicks player as if he were reading a scouting report: “If I missed anybody on the Knicks, I’m very sorry. No disrespect. You guys are all NBA players. I love you, dearly,” he said.
Dinwiddie’s scouting report went as follows:
“Elfrid Payton and Ntilikina are good defensively and also playmaking. R.J. Barrett is going to be a very aggressive, a rookie who is kind of coming in to help change the culture. Marcus Morris is a phenomenal threepoint shooter with post-up capabilities. Julius Randle is a monster in transition, super strong. And Bobby Portis is also another aggressive scorer, good rebounder, just a tough guy all around, has a really well