Mark it down on your calendar. Make reservationa at your local bar. Start planning the night in with your friends. The New York Knicks will face the Brooklyn Nets on November 1st.
The Nets will host their rivals in the first game ever played in their new town and arena. The Barclays Center will be where the action goes down.
Fans will not have to wait long to begin the trash talking. Both teams were heavy on the offseason rumors. The New Jersey Nets look like the offseason victors as they resigned their starting four and traded for Joe Johnson.
Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Kris Humphries, Gerard Wallace and Brook Lopez have a lot of pressure awaiting them in the 2013 season. Despite not getting Dwight Howard, the Nets possess a strong team that is expected to finish in the top five of the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks lost what was considered to be their greatest asset, Jeremy Lin. However, they still have a strong core in Carmelo Anthony, a healthy Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. They have a nasty bench as they brought back former Knicks Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas. The Knicks also resigned J.R. Smith and three-point assassin Steve Novak.
The Knicks also got Raymond Felton and recently, Ronnie Brewer. Not to mention that they have the seasoned veteran and NBA champion Jason Kidd on their roster.
The Knicks have a roster full of veterans. It will be interesting to see if they are not too old to compete in the East.
The November 1st matchup will be the first of four meetings between the two clubs. Complete schedules are expected to be released on Thursday at 7 p.m.