“If we don’t get up for this game, then I don’t know what games we’ll get up for,” Anthony said. “It’s an inner-city game, New York vs. Brooklyn. To me, going back home, going back to my borough, playing my first game back there is a very special moment for myself.” As a result of how hot he’s been and his excitement for this game, you can expect Anthony to go off tonight but as he alluded to, it will take a team effort to go into Brooklyn and leave with a victory. You can bet the fans will be raucous and only hope the Nets will have homecourt advantage, as the ticket prices have gone up as they would if the game was being be played at MSG.
4. Fan Battle: The Nets are trying to win fans in the metropolitan area over — something Mikhael Prokhorov vowed to do when he first purchased the team. A win over the Knicks, who unquestionably own New York’s basketball allegiance, could go a long way towards converting some fair weather Knicks fans into Nets fans. But until they win a championship in Brooklyn, it’s going to be tough to compete with the Knicks in terms of a sizeable fan base because of the history and atmosphere of the Garden, but if they can keep their winning ways up and get a W tonight it can’t hurt their cause.
Jeremy Bauman is a 2011 Indiana University alum who is an aspiring scout and shooting coach. After covering last June’s NBA finals for this site, he’ll be blogging for SheridanHoops.com during the 2012-13 basketball season. Follow him on Twitter.