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Brooklyn Nets Make First West Coast Appearance & School Sacramento
By
Derek Evers
Published Nov 19, 2012
Modified Nov 19, 2012
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By
Derek Evers
Published Nov 19, 2012
Modified Nov 19, 2012
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The Brooklyn Nets kicked off their first west coast road trip with a 99-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings last night, capping the team's first two weeks in the NBA riding a five game winning streak. At 6-2, the Nets find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference, part of an unlikely duo with the Knicks as the conference's two best teams. Through eight games into the young season, the pomp of opening night may have dispersed, the circumstance now mere happenstance (much like ticket prices), but the Nets have already bested last year's longest winning streak (three) by two games and matched the franchise's best start since the 2002-03 season when they went to the NBA finals.
Deron Williams recorded his third straight double-double (14 points, 10 boards) in a game that saw the bench outscore the starters 52-47 as six players ended the night in double digits. Prior to last night's contest, Brooke Lopez told the Daily News that "he hasn't felt this way in a while" and "basketball is fun again." Well, yeah: Lopez just spent four years stuck in two towns that didn't support him even before they knew he was leaving. And let's not forget that both those towns were in New Jersey. Now he's in the fourth largest "city" in the country, and arguably the Mecca of basketball.
Barclays Center (Tien Mao/Gothamist)
It also doesn't hurt that Lopez spent his week dominating one of the league's best big men and quietly trails Williams by just two-tenths of a point as the team's leading scorer. It should also be noted that Lopez is averaging a mere seven-tenths of a point less than that Howard guy they wanted to trade him and the rest of the house for.
Lest you accuse us of having an (unbelievably) short memory, we DO remember when the Nets found themselves 1-2 following a 103-73 blowout to the Miami Heat, on the heels of giving up a 22-point second-half lead in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. A performance that had many speculating the honeymoon was over. Darren Rovell summarized the thoughts of a sports nation when he tweeted, "By February, the shine of Brooklyn will be off if the Nets can’t compete. Mediocre teams in new arenas don’t bring fans anymore."
Rovell's comments seemed to echo the sentiments of an America unmoved by Brooklyn's return to prominence. Maybe they're just sick and tired the cultural vanguard of America (well, at least the East Coast) overshadowing everything they do. From Gossip Girl, to Two Broke Girls to just plain Girls, our borough encapsulates the lives of every precious 21-45 year old marketing eyeball in the Country. Jay-Z's one-fifteenth of one percent ownership is just the icing on the gluten-free cake.
To be fair, that philosophy has proven true in most cities, but this town's not going to rush to judgment. 57 years will harden you that way, the way that Cubs and Packers fans have been hardened.
Though it is still mighty early, we can't resist saying that it looks as though Walter O'Malley's five decade injustice is slowly being undone. With a resolve that lay dormant over three generations, brewing below a thick layer of irony, Brooklyn has waited for an opportunity to experience something no other city could. Not in Oklahoma City. Not in New Orleans. Not even in Miami.
If the first two weeks are any indication, the Nets and Knicks will have the country's attention focused squarely on New York much the way the Yankees and Dodgers did some 57-years earlier. America, you've been warned—and secession is not an option.
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barclays center
brooke lopez
brooklyn nets
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Derek Evers
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