NBA Atlantic: Dream Season in the Big Apple
The NBA Atlantic Division thus far is a battle between two teams from New York City, the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks were are in first place with a 32-18 record while the Nets are 2.5 games back at 30-22. The two teams split their four head to head games, each winning once a the others home court. All four games were entertaining as well.
But what really makes this a dream season is there is a team that once again calls itself Brooklyn. That has not happened since 1957 after the Brooklyn Dodgers left for Los Angeles. The fans of Brooklyn were fiercely loyal and also long suffering. Year after year they saw their team lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Their suffering was finally rewarded in 1955 when they finally beat the hated Yankees and won the borough’s only World Championship. Little did they know they only had two more seasons to enjoy their team.
The Dodgers left for Los Angeles for the 1958 season and until this NBA season, no other big league sports franchise has called itself the Brooklyn Anythings. But with the building of the new Barclay’s Center, the former New Jersey Nets moved in for this season. Brooklyn now has a team love again. They are in the familiar place of chasing a team called New York, but it sure beats not having a team at all.
The borough got more good news recently when it was announced that the New York Islanders are soon coming to the Barclay’s Center as well. But for now, it is all about basketball in the borough as the Nets make a push for the playoffs, something they rarely did in New Jersey. As of right now they would be the #4 seed and would face the Chicago Bulls in the first round. But the Indiana Pacers, the Bulls, Nets and Atlanta Hawks are all separated by only two games and the Nets only trail the Knicks by 2.5, so if they can get hot they could move up into the two spot or with a slump fall to sixth.
Wherever the Nets land in the playoffs, the Barclay’s Center should be a very exciting place to be for their first postseason in Brooklyn in 55 years. Hopefully the Nets will hang around for a while once it starts.
