Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov was absent from Newark on Saturday night, spared the embarrassment of his team losing to the Amar’e Stoudemire-less Knicks and having Prudential Center sound like Madison Square Garden West.
After all the thunderous roars from the blue-and-orange-clad Knicks fans died down, one thing became very evident: The Nets need Carmelo Anthony a lot more than James Dolan’s Knicks need him.
From a basketball standpoint, the Nets don’t have a crunch-time scorer to pull out winnable games like Saturday night’s 105-95 loss to the Knicks.
From a marketing standpoint, the Nets don’t have enough fans.
It’s a fact — not a shot at the Nets’ savvy general manager, Billy King, or their fine coach, Avery Johnson, who both learned Saturday where they stand in the marketplace. It was the same thing during the 1994 Nets-Knicks first-round playoff war when Knicks fans filled the Meadowlands and forced former Nets coach Chuck Daly into retirement.
The Nets on Saturday had their first sell-out since moving to Newark — only because the Knicks made their first regular-season appearance in the hockey palace.
If Prokhorov had been there Saturday, he might have flown into a blind rage as he did last month when he announced to his fans the Nets were out of the running for Anthony, the Brooklyn-born superstar. Anthony could make the Nets relevant and give Brooklyn a reason to be excited for 2012. A bad team in Brooklyn is still a bad team.
Prokhorov has 10 days to come to his senses and get back into the hunt and force Anthony to make a decision on whether he wants to be the franchise’s savior, as Blake Griffin has been with the Clippers.
Several NBA sources now wonder if the ever-patient Nuggets are even going to trade Anthony by Feb. 24 if the Nets don’t get back into it. Curiously, they love Nets forward Derrick Favors, who Saturday night looked 19 and at least three years away from being a very good player.
Anthony’s recent remark he would take “a hard look” at signing the Denver contract extension has given Nuggets brass hope. At least it may prompt the Nuggets to call Anthony’s bluff, not trade him, and dare him to leave $65 million on the table and enter the unknown of post-lockout free agency.
Dolan obviously is no angel. His friendship and informal dealings with Isiah Thomas stink, and he will never be forgiven if he eventually rehires Thomas at the expense of Knicks president Donnie Walsh, who has dug the team out of the grave.
NBA commissioner David Stern, whom The Post has reported has lobbied for Walsh behind the scenes, probably will never allow it to happen.
But Dolan is there pushing the Anthony chase, pushing Walsh to add another star for the Garden marquee — even as his team has a monopoly on the metropolitan area and sells out MSG every game now. For all his eccentricities, Dolan would never pass on adding a superstar.
Walsh, who feels they need a big center most to take the pressure off Stoudemire, plays poker with the best of them. He is waiting at least a week to show his best hand — and it probably won’t be just Wilson Chandler.
“Denver would rather not do a deal than do a bad deal,” one informed league executive said. “It’s not going to be a giveaway.”
The Knicks giveaway could come in July if Anthony becomes a free agent. And that’s a good bet — unless Prokhorov gets back in the game. On Valentine’s Day, Prokhorov should come with flowers, on bended knee, proposing to Anthony.