Offseason drama puts pressure on KD & Co.
The Nets’ packed house at their Practice in the Park showed they do indeed have a burgeoning fan base. The smattering of boos Steve Nash got and the lukewarm reception to Kevin Durant on Sunday prove they have pressure to go with it.
Roughly 8,000 tickets were distributed to the sixth annual Practice in the Park, both a record for the free open-to-the-public event and the maximum capacity for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2. The fans got to watch the Nets go through light drills with the iconic view of lower Manhattan as the backdrop.
They also got to make their voices heard. Doubleedged sword.
Nash’s ability to handle a star-laden team and lead a champion has come into question in some circles of the fan base. Other segments are vexed that Durant requested a trade this offseason, and then tried to get both Nash and general manager Sean Marks fired.
But on Sunday, both Nash and Marks were on hand at the fan event. Nash’s children were there as well, ironically wearing Durant jerseys.
“The guys have worked really hard, they’re locked in to all the details. We’re trying to form an identity and understanding each other, coming together,” Nash told team color commentator Tim Capstraw. “It’s a challenge but they’ve worked really hard. If we stick with it then we’ll be a great team.”
For his part, center Day’Ron Sharpe — the only player made available to the media at the event — was confident Brooklyn can reach that great level.
Asked if this would be a championship season for the Nets, Sharpe confidently answered, “Yeah. For sure.”
Sharpe saw COVID-19 wreak havoc on his rookie campaign, and limit unvaccinated star Kyrie Irving to just 29 games — six at Barclays Center. Now with New York City’s vaccine mandates gone, Irving eligible at home and the Nets seemingly more whole to start the season, Sharpe is confident in a better result.
“I’d say a non-COVID year, like a real year. I’ve been telling some of the teammates everything was different because of COVID, so I need to see how things are without COVID,” Sharpe said. “We’re just crashing hard every day, getting better together, getting better chemistry at the team.”
Irving — who couldn’t come to a long-term contract extension with Brooklyn this summer and picked up the $36 million option on the final year of his deal — got the loudest ovation of the afternoon. Durant got some cheers, but they were about as lukewarm as the fall weather and breeze coming off the East River.
Still, both Nash and Sharpe talked about how enjoyable it was to be at the event, and how being out on a playground evoked childhood memories.
“For sure. Playing outside with friends many days in the winter, in the rain whatever it was, just had to be out there playing,” Nash said. “So it’s always great to be back out on the playground.”
After failing to ever gain suitable traction in their New Jersey days, events like this are helping the Nets set down roots. This marks their 10th season in Barclays Center, with the 20-year-old Sharpe saying he can recall their Jersey days and is happy to help them build their fan base in Brooklyn.
“I could remember when the Nets were in Jersey, too. I’m not that young, but I can remember the Nets starting in Jersey,” Sharpe said. “So for me to be part of Brooklyn, it’s been a long time. I didn’t even realize it was that long either myself.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Demarcus Lawrence returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown on the Rams’ opening drive, and Cooper Rush remained unbeaten as the Cowboys’ fill-in starter despite passing for just 102 yards in a 22-10 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
Tony Pollard made an outstanding 57-yard TD run for the Cowboys, who are off to a 4-1 start for the second consecutive season after racking up four consecutive wins without injured QB Dak Prescott.
Dorance Armstrong forced the fumble returned by Lawrence and later blocked a punt during a huge first quarter for Dallas, which got 86 yards rushing from Pollard and 78 more from Ezekiel Elliott. With Rush going 10 for 16, the running game and the Cowboys’ impressive defense took charge in yet another strong game.
Cooper Kupp made a 75-yard touchdown reception for the Rams (2-3), who fell below .500 for only the second time in coach Sean McVay’s six seasons while getting shut out in the second half.
With three missing starters, the offensive line for the defending Super Bowl champions struggled to provide any support for the Rams’ inert running game or for Matthew Stafford, who passed for 308 yards and was sacked five times.
Kupp’s brilliant catch-and-run is the only touchdown scored by the Rams in their past nine quarters of play, including back-to-back losses to San Francisco and Dallas.
Malik Hooker made a clinching interception with 3:29 to play in a rematch of the first regularseason game in the history of SoFi Stadium, the multibillion-dollar football palace built by Rams owner Stan Kroenke and championed by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Los Angeles beat Dallas 20-17 in that fan-free encounter to open the 2020 season.
Dallas got off to an auspicious start on the third play from scrimmage when Stafford fumbled while getting dropped by Armstrong under enormous pressure. Lawrence scooped it and scored the second touchdown of his nine-year career.
Los Angeles’ second drive ended with Armstrong running unimpeded up the middle and blocking Riley Dixon’s punt, although Dallas only managed an ensuing field goal.
The Rams settled down from the early chaos and even took the lead in the second quarter when Kupp caught a short pass onehanded and ran the final 71 yards on the longest play in the remarkable career of last season’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
But Pollard put the Cowboys back ahead 92 seconds later, breaking a handful of tackles on the second-longest run of his career.