The hyped up season for the Brooklyn Nets is officially underway as the team participated in their first preseason game with new stars, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The long-time Celtics are wearing new uniforms for the first time, but look like the same great players. With chemistry the goal in the preseason, teammates are already tossing around praise for what the Nets can accomplish in 2013.
Brooklyn won their first court appearance 111-106 of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Head coach Jason Kidd opted to let his starters play 121/2 minutes. With Deron Williams out with a bum ankle, the first attempt at building chemistry did not really take to form.
"I think that's what everyone's been waiting for all summer," Brook Lopez said, via Newsday.com. "So to finally have today come, everyone was excited and ready to get out there. I thought for the first game, it was pretty good."
Kevin Garnett got in a fair amount of action in the win. The 19-year veteran put his leadership skills on display throughout the game, leading the huddles during timeouts, pushing instructions and boosting morale. Garnett believes with the raises expectations should come a different kind of culture for the team. While minutes were sparse for the starters, Garnett saw enough in Lopez to leave good impressions.
"I'm just in awe a little bit, just being honest with everybody," Garnett said. "His skill level is impressive and I haven't been around a skill level like that versus playing [against one] I don't think ever. So, this is an adjustment for me. I'm just making sure I'm keying in on that and making sure the two of us is on the same page. But impressed. Impressed is the word that jumps right out."
Pierce echoed the praise on Lopez while admitting his first game with the Nets felt a little weird. The veteran has not worn anything but green his entire career and now is attempting to fit in with a new set of teammates. He does not think about Boston anymore, instead focused on a solid run in Brooklyn.
"I've been part of the Brooklyn Nets. We've been practicing. I mean, I didn't think about it," Pierce said.
Kidd was impressed with what he saw from the team in their first outing. Clean ball movement and communication were well on display. While admitting there is a lot of work left to do, Kidd is satisfied with what he has seen so far.
"Everybody was communicating," Kidd said. "It was like we'd been together a little bit longer than we have. But everybody is trying to do the right thing. Brook looked great on the inside and we had some great looks around the perimeter that we normally would make. But we'll live with the shots that we're getting."