I had kind of forgotten about the impending move of the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn . In part, I believe that this was because of the delays in actually bringing the arena and everything about, since it was mired in controversy, and had it's fair share of opposition, to say the least. It seemed it was being put on the backburner, and so mentally, I guess I did, as well.
Had not heard any developments or anything for quite a while, and more or less forgot about it, I suppose.
Then suddenly, in this, the strangest of all basketball seasons, I heard that this would be the last season for the Nets in New Jersey Brooklyn , as promised now for the greater part of the decade. I heard about it, if memory serves correctly, just before this strike shortened season was about to begin, and it was a sports writer who was making fun of the new logo and sentiment. It is, obviously, a difficult and unique situation, with the Nets knowing for years that they were making the move, and then, finally, knowing this in particular would be the last season in Jersey before they finally go off to the big city. What the sports writer made fun of was the official logo for the Nets in this departure year:
Yeah, not exactly the most inspiring words, right? Where is Shakespeare when you need him?
So, with the final season impending, and apparently a lull in enthusiasm among Jersey fans, understandably, I figured this might be the opportune time to catch a few games, while the Nets were still available. For someone from New Jersey
I saw probably dozens of games over the years, starting with the first Nets game I ever saw back in the spring of 1994, when the mediocre Washington Bullets (they were still known as the Bullets, and not the Wizards, back then), took on the crappy team from New Jersey
There were a few years between that and the next time around, but I was able to see them over the course of many years, against some incredible opponents, including the historical 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson, the only team in basketball history to have reached that amazing 70 win plateau in a season (they finished the season at 72-10, and 87-13 overall, including their championship playoff run). I saw the Houston Rockets during their glory days of Hakeem Olijuwon and Clyde Drexler, and even eventually Charles Barkley. The San Antonio
The greatest single game that I saw was a playoff game against the Indiana Pacers in 2002. It was Game 5, the final, deciding game in an intense series. The Pacers, perennial contenders, two years removed from an NBA Finals, with Reggie Miller, one of my favorite players, and perhaps arguably the most explosive and the most exciting player during that era, outside of Michael Jordan. I even think he might have been more exciting to watch than Jordan
On that fateful day, he caught fire.
It was a back and forth game. The Pacers, with superior experience, had hung in there against a rising Nets team throughout the series, and they were doing the same in the deciding Game 5.
The Nets had enjoyed their best season in decades, and were among the first rated teams in the league. They were the top seed in the East, but had not won a playoff series in 18 years, and had long seemed a cursed franchise. Enter Jason Kidd, and their fortunes changed dramatically. Long seen as a young and potentially strong team for the future, the future was suddenly now. They were the top seed, and with the top seed, it seemed the opportunity to finally make their mark.
Most top teams usually easily dispatch easily with their first round opponent, but the Indiana Pacers were hardly a typical first round opponent.
Although the Nets seemed to be the better team throughout he season and most of the series, as well as the game, the Pacers hung in tough, forcing a deciding Game 5, and then holding on, just barely, into late into the fourth quarter. Still, they were down by three points with seconds left and time rapidly expiring in regulation. Reggie Miller was surely getting old and would not be able to save the day, right? After all, by now, everyone knew about the past, especially against the cross river Knicks, and so they knew not to give him a look from beyond the three point arc, right? Right?
Wrong. Miller sank an awkward looking three just before the time expired, forcing the game into overtime.
Okay, so the Nets would have to regroup, remain calm, and beat the Pacers in overtime.
But the Pacers still hung tough. Despite everything the Nets threw at them, the Pacers were, once again, down with one shot remaining with seconds left to try and preserve their season. Surely, this would be it, and history (even very recent history) would not repeated itself, right? Right!?
Wrong again. The ball found Miller once again, and he put up another shot that looked awkward, and surely would not go in. Of course, if you're reading this, you know better, right? The ball went through the basket, no problem, and the game went into a second overtime! An elimination game living up to it's billing! Reggie Miller at his best, and for such incredibly high stakes!
Finally, in the second overtime, the Nets did calm down, and played up to their potential, which finally, finally was more than enough to rather overwhelm the Pacers, who by then were exhausted with the uphill fight and had little left in the tank. This time, the Nets made sure that they did not leave enough room for Miller to pull off last second heroics yet again. The got the victory, in the game and thus, in the series, and won their first playoff series in almost two full decades!
My favorite Nets memory, and one of my favorite sports memories of all, period!
In any case, I had largely forgotten that this was going to be the Nets last season in Jersey until just recently. Once I remembered (for whatever the reason, I can't think of what triggered this memory at the moment), I checked, and found tickets generally readily available. So then, it was mostly a matter of just checking the availability of tickets, and finding the best seats for the best price, or the best deal possible. It seemed relatively easy, actually.
Later that day, naturally, I got in a car accident. That's not all that funny, and suddenly, spending money on tickets seemed like a bad idea, in retrospect. But I had already purchased them, and you can't go back in time, right?
The first game was for this past Wednesday, a the Nets hosted the Los Angeles Clippers. The Nets had been among the worst teams in the NBA for many decades, prior to their brief flirtation with greatness in the early 2000's, when they made two consecutive NBA Finals, losing both, unfortunately, first to the Lakers, then to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Clippers, on the other hand, have traditionally been one of the rare teams that were even worse than the Nets overall. Of memory serves correctly, they were voted the worst sports franchise in history by Sports Illustrated. Their ineptitude has been legendary, in fact. Year after year, they struggled, and their owner was this weird, evidently closet racist guy. Almost everything about the franchise seemed to spell disaster.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that their fortunes would eventually change. After all, of all the major sports, basketball relies most heavily on having just a few really good guys on your team. Get 2 or 3 stars in hockey, put them in your first line, and you still have three other lines to worry about, plus the distinct possibility of injury, since hockey is such a violent sport. Get 2 or 3 stars in football, and injury also remains a distinct possibility, more probably than basketball, although not necessarily hockey. But with 53 players on the roster, and specifically 11 starters on offense, and then 11 on defense (and that does not include special teams!), 2 or 3 stars will not necessarily yield a winner. In baseball, 2 or 3 superstars might get you more results. But again, if the rest of the lineup is not that strong, it will not be enough to necessarily field a contender.
In basketball, however, 2 or 3 stars will probably make you an instant contender. Look at the 2008 Boston Celtics, or last season's Miami Heat. Or this year's Los Angeles Clippers. Acquiring 2 or 3 stars will likely change your fortunes, perhaps even dramatically. At the very least, it will help you draw attention and sell some jerseys and tickets.
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Blake Griffen through the draft, and then, just before this season started, managed to snag Chris Paul. They were already an improving team, but the addition of Chris Paul suddenly had people talking about them being a potential NBA Finals team, and at least being a serious candidate for the best basketball team in Los Angeles
As the early March game in Jersey approached, the Clippers had a very strong record, and looked to be fulfilling many people's high expectations of them. While the Lakers were reeling and seemingly aging in a hurry, going in the wrong direction, the other Los Angeles
I was eager to see them.
The thing is, they were a very flashy team. I mean, extremely flashy. I could see why people like them – and a lot of people seemed to be pulling for them at the Rock on Wednesday, despite how traditionally horrendous the franchise has been for a very long time. Indeed, their very flashiness has changed their image, altered the perception of them from losers to up and coming winners. That said, they were a little too flashy for my tastes, at least bordering on style over substance, seemingly. They could be fun, but I do not think that style is built to last. At least not through the playoffs. Could be wrong, but it would be a bit surprising.
Anyway, the Nets, donning their throwback blue "New York" jerseys from decades ago (could it be considered a sign of disrespect towards New Jersey that they were already comfortable wearing "New York" jerseys?), played a solid game. Considerably less flashy than the Clippers, and not getting nearly as many ooooh's and aaaahh's from the sellout crowd, perhaps, but far more effective. They built up a solid lead, and at one point, even led by eighteen points.
Jordan Farmar was having an especially good game. It seemed that, at least on that day, everything he touched turn to gold, and he was a large part of the reason the Nets found themselves in control of this game for so long.
To their credit, however, the Clippers showed that they were more than a flash in the pan, and clawed their way back into the game. They kept on closing the margin, until suddenly, late in the fourth quarter, they managed to even things up. Then, very late and with little time remaining, the Clippers took a lead in the game, for the first time since early in the first quarter.
Closing time, right? After all, this is the Nets, and if they have traditionally been better than the Clippers, it was by default. New Jersey
Down 100-98 with less than ten seconds remaining on the clock, Deron Williams had the ball and was trying to approach the paint, make something happen, either generating a double team and then feed the ball to someone wide open, or perhaps find some magic on his own. A Clipper managed to seemingly take the ball away, but it was kicked away accidentally, thus providing the Nets with a scare, but with still one more opportunity to either tie it or win it.
The ball went again to Williams, who got double teamed indeed, and managed not only to find a wide open Jordan Farmar, but to feed it to him brilliantly, under immense pressure. Farmar, who had been on fire all night, got a wide open look, and from behind the ark, managed to sink the winning three-pointer, with 0.2 seconds left. The Clippers technically had a chance, but with so little time, it would have taken a miracle, and there were no miracles left in this game. Nets win, 101-100.
It was especially fun to go with my son to see such a game as this! He enjoyed it, although he was impatient and thirsty and driving daddy crazy by asking for a drink every ten seconds, even though we had just eaten (and drank) on the way there prior to the game. Still, it was a good memory to share with him, even though we left too early to actually see the end in person. It was, after all, a school night, and no matter how thrilling a sports team might be, school comes first, n'est ce pas?
Nice to see the Nets win, even if they are only playing for pride, and even if they are hardly sending New Jersey
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