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Philippines, 08 Feb 2025 |
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NBA -- A new chapter in Nets history By Reynaldo Seno PhilBoxing.com Sat, 27 Oct 2012  NEW YORK -- New home. New arena. And now, hopefully, new good fortunes. These are some of the beautiful things the Nets look forward to when they open the 67th NBA season this November 1 in Brooklyn, the most populous of New York city's five boroughs. The Nets highlight the NBA's opening night with an encounter with their New York neighbor and fierce rival, the Knicks. Transplanted from New Jersey, the Nets held court on various venues, the last of which was the Prudential Center in Newark which was notorious for its sparse and uninspired crowds during Nets games. But after their migration to the more glamorous state next door, these Nets have a new homecourt --- the splendid Barclays Center, a massive edifice that required $1 billion to build and opened for business last September 21, 2012. Led by Jason Kidd, the Nets went to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. Kidd has long since left, and there is a new point guard in town -- 3-time All-Star Deron Williams, who logs a career average of 17.6 points, 9.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds in his seven years in the NBA. Owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets are betting that the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Williams can take the franchise to the Promised Land. But Williams will need a lot of help, and he will likely get plenty from 11-year veteran and 5-time All-Star Joe Johnson. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound Johnson is a terrific scorer who averaged 17.8 points in a career that included stops in Boston, Phoenix and Atlanta, where he spent seven seasons before a multiplayer trade landed him in Brooklyn this past offseason. Johnson will make $19.7 million this upcoming season. Also expected to figure prominently for the Nets is 7-foot center Brook Lopez, 265 pounds of might the team hopes will anchor the defense. The 24-year old Lopez, a Stanford University alum, played only five games last season due to foot and ankle injuries. Bu when healthy, Lopez is a force who logs a career average of 17.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Power forward Chris Humphries will be summoned to log heavy minutes at power forward. The 6-foot-9 Humphries is an 8-year NBA veteran who played his best last season, scoring 13.8 points and pulling down 11 rebounds per in 62 games. Other Nets in the lineup include Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Andre Blatche, Keith Bogans, Reggie Evans, Josh Childress, Mirza Teletovic and former Chicago Bulls back-up point guard C.J. Watson. Since those glory days in the early 2000s, when Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Richard Jefferson starred for the team, the Nets have had some tough, trying times. Maybe a change of scenery will help. And with Deron Williams at the helm with a solid support group, just maybe. (Reynaldo Seno) Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reynaldo Seno.  |
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