For a preseason game, there sure are plenty of storylines when the Nets host the defending champion Heat on national television Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Before the game, the team will raise new coach Jason Kidd’s No. 5 jersey up into the rafters as the sixth number to be retired in franchise history.
Then, the Nets and Heat will square off in the first of six times (including another preseason game next week and four regular-season contests) this season, all of which will qualify as must-see TV thanks to the imported bad blood between Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade that goes back to their playoff battles over the past few years.
Game info: 8 p.m., coverage starts on TNT and YES. Kidd’s jersey retirement ceremony will be shown in full on YES, with the ceremony expected to begin right at 8. The game itself will begin at roughly 8:20. The game will not be on the radio.
Last game: In a reunion of sorts on both sides after the blockbuster summer trade between the Nets and Celtics, Brooklyn pulled out an 82-80 victory on a pair of free throws from Chris Johnson. The game marked the first time Pierce (four points, 10 rebounds, five assists) played against the Celtics after spending the first 15 years of his career in Boston.
It also marked the return of Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and Kris Humphries – the four players who went to Boston in the trade – to Brooklyn.
Injury report: Out: Williams (sprained right ankle), Jason Terry (offseason left knee surgery), Tornike Shengelia (offseason left knee surgery), Taylor (sprained right ankle), Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms)
Projected Starting Lineups:
Nets: Shaun Livingston, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez
Heat: Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem
On The Heat: Miami lost its last time out, as Bradley Beal scored 29 points to lead the Wizards to a 100-82 exhibition win over the Heat Tuesday in the nation’s capital. Wade had 14 points, including a huge dunk, while James had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists and Chris Bosh had 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Key Matchup: Paul Pierce vs. LeBron James
These two have been going toe-to-toe for the past decade, and there’s still no love lost. Though Pierce is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career and it’s just preseason, expect at least a few moments when the two of them go back-and-forth.