Finally, for the first time in a long time, things are looking up for the two NBA teams geographically located within a few miles of the Hudson River. And for a staff full of avid Knicks and Nets fans, we couldn't be happier. Personally, having no horse in this race (Let's Go Celtics!), I thought it would be interesting to point out some of the newly found similarities between the two ball clubs which suggest what may or may not be impacting each team's improvement.
First similarity: Russians. Prokhorov and Mozgov. Both newcomers to their respective franchises. Prokhorov has made an immediate impact on the Nets and declared that they must do whatever it takes to win a ring within five years. Conversely, Mozgov received a warm welcome to the league from Blake Griffin and the illest posterizing dunk of the year.
Second similarity: new leadership. Johnson and Stoudemire. After the Nets fired Jersey native Larry Frank last year and replaced him with that jerkoff in emo glasses that didn't do one goddamn thing to help them compete, it was clear that Lopez and Harris needed a kick in the ass. They got just that from Avery Johnson, as well as three hours worth of film study after a bad loss. For New York, Amare's impact is beyond evident. He speaks up at meetings and during timeouts, he hits big shots, and he's put up huge numbers so far. If Jeter skips town and Eli and the Sanchize choke, he just might be the newest golden boy of NYC.
Third similarity: arena changes happening soon. Barclay's Center and renovations to MSG. Since 66% of our staff lives in Brooklyn, I'm sure they are wetting themselves dreaming about being able to go to Nets games without crossing two rivers (if they are still called the Nets at that point, which I think is unlikely) and the new-look Garden is going to be sweet, particularly the spectator bridge.
Fourth similarity: massive overhauls to 2010-2011 rosters. Four players back for NJ, five players back for NY. After winning only twelve games last year, Nets fans exclaimed that they needed some changes to their roster we could all believe in. They got just that, retaining only Harris, Lopez, Williams, and Humphries and nabbing championship-tested vet Jordan Farmar and potential rookie superstar Derrick Favors. For New York, they only kept Douglas, Gallo, Chandler, Curry and Walker (do Bill Walker and Eddy Curry even really count?) and beefed up with the ultimate workhorse and Thierry Henry favorite Ronnie Turiaf (who is always Mike D's answer off the bench when things aren't going well, it seems) and the PG-PF combination of Felton and STAT, who are starting to seriously connect.
It's still too early to tell if these teams will both be serious contenders in the near future. They are both on the right track though and if they continue, perhaps someday down the road, the NBA will have an answer to the MLB's subway series and we'll witness a Brooklyn vs. New York Eastern Conference final. In the meantime, though, we'll have to be satisfied with tonight's match up and the fact that, for the first time in a long time, this game means something to each of the teams and their playoff hopes.
One Game We Won't Be Watching Tonight: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Portland Trailblazers
Once upon a time, Greg Oden was the number one draft pick and Brandon Roy's knee was, well, a fully-functioning knee. Those days are long gone, though, and after a frank conversation last night with Andrew Abides about this team, I don't know why anyone ever talks about Portland as a threat to the Lakers. And as long as we're being frank (we love being frank), I don't even think they are going to make the playoffs this year. At 8-8, they've been quite vanilla so far, and their 39.4 rebounds per game currently ranks 28th in the league. No rebounds = no playoffs.
As for Philly, they've only got four wins and are in last place. On the bright side, Evan Turner is averaging 8.5 points per game and Mike Vick is just tearing up the NFL this year! Vick's really been amazing, hasn't he?
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