WASHINGTON — The Nets will take the floor Tuesday night in the nation’s capital for their preseason opener against the Wizards, in what will double as the first opportunity to see Jason Kidd man the sidelines and to see Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko in Nets uniforms.
Game Info: 7 p.m. tip; the game will be shown live on the YES Network, as well as on NBA TV. The game will not be on the radio.
Projected Starting Lineups
Nets: Shaun Livingston, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez
Wizards: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely, Nene
About the Wizards: With the combination of Wall and Beal in the backcourt, the Wizards finally have the foundation to emerge from the disastrous aftermath of Gilbert Arenas horsing around with guns in the team’s locker room. If those two and oft-injured big man Nene can stay on the floor, Washington may return to the playoffs for the first time in several years.
Key Matchup: Wall and Beal versus the Nets’ defense
If there was something the Nets struggled against last season more than anything else, it was trying to contain smaller, quicker backcourts. Teams like the Bucks and Hawks gave the Nets fits because of their speed in the backcourt, with their guards able to get past Deron Williams and Johnson and into the heart of the team’s defense. Even with Williams injured, it will be interesting to see how a young, athletic backcourt comprising Wall and Beal fares against the reworked Nets defense.
Stat of the Day: The Nets were second-to-last in the NBA last season in transition offense, scoring a little more than nine points per game on the fast break. The Nets have talked about trying to speed up the offense. Now we’ll see if they can get out on the break against the Wizards.
What to Watch For: How do the pieces fit? There is very little that can be gleaned from a preseason game — let alone one in which one starter (Williams) and another rotation player (Jason Terry) are not playing. But this is the first chance to see all of the Nets’ new pieces on the floor, running their new offensive and defensive systems, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like, regardless of how relevant it will be on Oct. 30 in Cleveland.