The Brooklyn Nets want to be the best, but in order to do that they have to beat the best. Their first opportunity to truly test out the newly upgraded roster comes on Friday when the team has their home opener against the Miami Heat. The Nets payroll reaches upwards of $100 million, but all of that will mean nothing if the Nets cannot top the Heat this season.
The Nets have a 13-game losing streak to the Miami Heat. However, now Brooklyn has Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry on their roster after a trade with Boston and they are hoping that puts the streak to an end. The team's season did not start out as planned as Brooklyn fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers after not making enough plays down the stretch of the game. Point guard Deron Williams sat out the entire fourth quarter, but that is expected to change tonight.
The Heat opened the year beating the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose at home. They followed that up by losing to the Philadelphia 76ers, allowing rookie Michael Carter-Williams to put up 22 points, 12 assists and nine steals. Dwyane Wade sat out of the game which could have played a role, but he is expected back for the matchup against Brooklyn.
In Brooklyn's first game with the new roster, the key players did their jobs well, just not well enough. Brook Lopez put up 21 points while Paul Pierce had 17. Garnett recorded 10 rebounds. The team failed to put away the Cavaliers while keeping the game close up until the fourth quarter. Garnett is simply preaching patience to fans as the team continues to work on chemistry.
Friday's game features a heated rivalry between James, Wade, Ray Allen and Garnett, Pierce and Terry. While a few of the players are in different uniforms than before, the hatred is still there.
