Say this for the Nets, they have the Heat’s attention.
Some feel the Pacers and Bulls are the top contenders in the Eastern Conference to dethrone Miami, but the acquisition of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry had at least one member of the two-time champs impressed.
“I talk to my good buddy Ray Allen and all summer he didn’t mention anything about the Pacers other than that they played well the past season. All he talked about was the Brooklyn Nets and what they are putting together,” said new YES Network analyst Donny Marshall, who played with Allen at UConn in the early 90s.
“I think the Nets are under the radar a bit if you listen to the GMs, the pontificators and maybe that’s because they have an older team and one that faltered against the Bulls last season in the playoffs.”
The offseason talk centered around whether the rivalry LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had with Pierce and Garnett would transfer from Boston to Brooklyn. And James sparked that by questioning Pierce and Garnett for bolting Boston after they criticized Allen for doing the same a year earlier, even though the latter left in free agency. We’ll get an early indication of what the intensity will be like when the Heat come to Barclays Center on Friday night.
“Rivalries can come along very quickly in the NBA, it’s not like football because teams plays more often. They happen when great teams play each other,” said Marshall, who worked Celtics broadcasts before taking a position with YES when Greg Anthony increased his role at CBS.
“I would have the Nets right up there behind the Heat. I don’t know if the Heat made enough changes to keep up with what they did the past two seasons. … Dwyane Wade is a guy that can’t stay healthy and that worries me about Miami’s stability.”
One NBA veteran who will not be in the arena on Friday night is Jason Kidd, whose coaching debut is delayed until Sunday in Orlando as he serves a two-game suspension for a drinking and driving arrest in 2012. One question surrounding the Nets is how the rookie coach will manage the personalities of the team’s stars, which also include Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson.
“It’s about connecting with players and having their respect,” Marshall said. “In 19 years in the league, there’s not one player that can say anything bad about [Kidd] as far as being a competitor, a great teammate, a champion.
“The biggest question for Jason is late game how do you tell Joe Johnson he’s got to be off for Paul Pierce. Or how do you tell Garnett he’s got to sit down for Lopez or maybe even an Andray Blatche. And that comes back to managing personalities and Jason has the respect from the players to do that.”