Bring on the Bulls.
The Nets finally learned who their opponent will be in the first round of the playoffs when the Bulls knocked off the Wizards in Chicago, clinching the fifth seed and setting the stage for the two teams to meet in Brooklyn Saturday.
“They’re an excellent team,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said after his team beat the Pistons, 103-99, in Brooklyn to finish the regular season at 49-33. “They beat us three out of four. They’re experienced. They’ll be an excellent defensive team, an excellent rebounding team.
“It’ll be a hell of a challenge.”
It’s one the Nets have been waiting to get to ever since they were locked into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference when they lost in Toronto Sunday.
But it won’t be easy, because the tough-minded, physical Bulls — who had the NBA’s best record in the regular season each of the last two seasons — beat the Nets in three of the four meetings between the two teams this season.
“It’s going to be a good one,” said Brook Lopez, who will be making his first trip to the postseason in his fifth year in the NBA. “I think despite the record [against them], we’ve matched up well against them all year.
“We’ve been right there and had opportunities. I think it could easily be 3-1 the other way. It’s going to be physical, but I think we’re ready for it.”
The one benefit the Nets should have in the series is health. Though the Nets enter the playoffs almost completely healthy, the Bulls have been nursing injuries to key cogs such as Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson down the stretch. They also have been without star guard Derrick Rose for the season, though he hasn’t been ruled out for the playoffs. Both Noah and Gibson came off the bench last night and played limited minutes.
“It’s good,” said Deron Williams of his team’s confidence level. “I think everybody is semi-healthy now. It’s the first time in a long time we have everybody at full-strength.
“We’re definitely excited about that, and feel confident that when we are playing at our highest level, we are tough to beat.”
In addition to being healthy, the Nets enter the postseason in the midst of one of their best stretches of the season, winning six of their final seven games and closing the season with a 7-2 record in April.
“I think we’ve been playing pretty good,” Joe Johnson said. “The ball has been moving great. Defensively we’ve been on the same page and we’ve been clicking and gelling and our cohesiveness is there.
“This is perfect timing for us, so hopefully we can take some of this momentum into the postseason and try to make something happen.”
It has been a long and winding journey for the Nets to get to this point, one full of various peaks and valleys. From starting out 11-4 in November and seeing Avery Johnson win Coach of the Month honors to him getting fired just a few weeks later, from Williams struggling to get fit and healthy before the All-Star break before doing so and subsequently going on a tear after it, it has been an eventful first season in Brooklyn.
Now, Carlesimo said he is excited to see just what kind of reception his team gets inside Barclays Center when it opens up for a playoff game for the first time in two days.
“I’m sure [the fans] will be great,” Carlesimo said. “To me, we’re getting louder and louder and hopefully it will progress. Like us, it’s going to be a new experience for the people in the building, too, so I think that’s part of it.
“Our fans have been great. I think the blackout and all the things the organization is doing, it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere. But, I’ve said all along, we’ve got to give them a reason to make noise.”
Come Saturday, they will get their chance.