Finally, it’s time to play ball.
After months of buildup and anticipation – and after a week in which Hurricane Sandy laid waste to the greater metropolitan area, and pushed back the Nets season opener by a couple of extra days – the Nets finally take the floor for the first regular season game in the Brooklyn era of the franchise against the Raptors Saturday night.
Here are three things to watch for as the Nets hope to start off the season 1-0:
1. Kyle Lowry vs. Deron Williams – We’re in a golden age of point guards in the NBA, where so many teams are led by a superior floor general. That is going to lead to plenty of fun matchups for Williams, and he gets one right off the bat in Lowry, who went for 21 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals in Wednesday’s 90-88 loss at home to the Pacers.
If Williams can contain Lowry, the Nets should win this game comfortably. But, if he can’t, things could get interesting.
2. How the Nets will defend Andrea Bargnani – Nets coach Avery Johnson has been open about the fact that his team has struggled historically against lineups featuring smaller power forwards. And while Andrea Bargnani isn’t a “small” four, considering he’s seven feet tall, he plays like one, handling the ball and shooting often from the perimeter.
The Nets spent the final section of their scrimmage Thursday afternoon (the part we got to watch) with a small lineup on the floor of C.J. Watson, Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez. My guess is we’ll be seeing an awful lot of that look Saturday night if starting power forward Kris Humphries has trouble staying in front of Bargnani.
3. Attacking the rim – The Nets have several players that can fill it up from deep, and they like shooting 3-pointers. But that’s not a recipe for success against a Toronto team that excelled last season at preventing opposing teams from hitting them.
The Raptors were fifth best in the league in opposing team’s 3-point shooting percentage, allowing teams to shoot 32.8 percent from behind the arc for the season. That, combined with the fact that the Nets have size advantages at both shooting guard and small forward with Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace, respectively, should mean the Nets are attacking the rim and not settling for 3-pointers.