IT’S KYRIE VS. RJ AT BARCLAYS
Knicks-Nets could be spark hoops-deprived city needs
YES, IT’S early and I might be a bit optimistic given how long it has been since it felt like this. Maybe, it has never felt like this. Certainly not since the Nets moved to New Jersey and not since the Knicks became virtually irrelevant.
But maybe, just maybe, New York is about to become a basketball city again, giving Knicks versus Nets a different kind of meaning than in past years.
When the teams meet Friday night at Barclays Center, it’s the beginning of new era for this interborough showdown: It’s a subway series that’s finally grown some teeth.
The Nets already whipped their crosstown rivals in the offseason, landing free agents Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who were coveted by the Knicks, who talked themselves into believing a mega-star was on the way. It was humbling to see the two stars prefer Brooklyn over Broadway. This first game will bring those franchise-changing transactions into focus for the Knicks and add a measure of spice to their encounters with the Nets for the next several years. We understand the Knicks and Nets both lost their openers Wednesday night, but even in defeat, the teams did enough to encourage their respective fan bases and add intrigue to this first meeting of this NBA season.
The Nets are must-see TV now after Irving dropped 50 points Wednesday night in a 127-126 overtime loss to the Timberwolves in Brooklyn. It was the highestscoring debut with a team in NBA history, though it wasn’t enough to capture a win as Irving missed the potential game-winner.
Meanwhile, the Knicks showed promise in San Antonio. After being down 10 early, they held their own on the road against the Spurs, leading 97-91 with 8:40 left in the game. An 18-0 run by San Antonio showed how much work must be done to learn how to close out games, but it was encour
aging that the players the Knicks must count on
this season showed up.
First-round draft pick RJ Barrett had 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting. He also had five rebounds and two assists. Julius Randle, the Knicks’ $63 million free agent, scored 25 and added 11 boards. Marcus Morris played strong with 26 points and Bobby Portis had eight points and seven boards.
Elfrid Payton should have won the point-guard job for now, and if the chemistry starts to build and nobody pouts, the Knicks should be entertaining.
For years these Knicks-Nets games lacked real substance. During the Patrick Ewing years, the Knicks were always too good and the Nets were terrible. Then Jason Kidd and the Nets were good and the Knicks were terrible.
Yet, when the Nets first opened Barclays Center, there were more Knicks fans in Brooklyn. That won’t be the case Friday night as the Nets now have a strong fan base that stretches from Brooklyn to New Jersey.
This isn’t a showdown between Irving and Barrett, a rookie who has played just one game. But Irving didn’t sign with the Nets to be upstaged by the Knicks. And though Barrett might be only 19, he has shown he isn’t the type to back down. Irving might teach the young rookie a lesson or two the first few times they meet. But they will be lessons learned and stored for future use. This version of Knicks-Nets isn’t just about them, either. For those who remember Eddy Curry, Jerome James and Joakim Noah, it’s good to see Randle open with a double-double and Morris offer strong support. He was booed every time he touched the ball and still scored 26. The bench has to be developed around Kevin Knox, who had 13 points in 21 minutes against the Spurs. The Nets, meanwhile, can’t be just a one-man show, even though Irving is worth the price of admission. There are other intriguing matchups. It will be fun to see Knicks center Mitchell Robinson do battle against the Nets’ Jarrett Allen, and ex-Knick-turned-Net DeAndre Jordan go against Portis and Randle. How about a shootout between Joe Harris and Allonzo Trier? This should be fun.