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For 10 years, the Nets have called Brooklyn home.
And during those 10 years, it was a whirlwind of frustration, disappointment, and failure.
I’m a Brooklyn Nets fan. I have permission to say this.
In one of my late March 2021 sports columns, I wrote about how the Brooklyn Dodgers were poised to bring home the first professional sports championship title in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series in 1955. The team had just traded for nine-time All-Star James Harden, and everything seemed to fall into place at exactly the right time.
However, we are here for two more years. Harden is gone, head coach Steve Nash is gone, the franchise is in bad shape. Both on the court and especially on the court, the Nets have been dysfunctional – which is not what you want to do as a sports franchise in the Big Apple.
When the Nets came to town to kick off the 2012-2013 season, hopes were restored that the district would once again celebrate a championship. However, in the following seven trips since moving to Kings County, the team has advanced past the first round of the playoffs just twice.
Considering the stars on this team, this is truly unacceptable. Kevin Durant remains a superstar, but his supporting cast can’t seem to figure it out. Kyrie Irving makes more headlines off the court than he does, and former draft pick Ben Simmons is still trying to recapture his past best form.
It’s no wonder why Durant asked for a trade this summer, and he probably felt he had to follow through on those plans. Jacques Vaughn took over as head coach after the team split with Nash. If the Nets are poised for a championship in 2021, that’s how far away from a title they seem.
“The nets themselves are disappointing,” said John Shea, a 1969 graduate of Bishop Ford HS, Park Slope, and a retired teacher who lives in New Jersey. “I have a long history with them. I don’t like these guys. I read an article by Bob Raissman of the Daily News that they are one of the most disliked teams in the league right now.
Shea has been a fan of the Nets since their early days in the American Basketball Association. The graduate of St. John’s University in Jamaica was a partial season ticket holder when the Nets played the Meadowlands.
As the saga surrounding the team—mainly Irving—has been relentless this year, Shea hasn’t been all that interested. He was disappointed to see the team trade away talented young players like Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert over the past few years.
Brooklyn is used to being a “loser” team. Losing is in quotation marks because the Dodgers won so many games to get them to the big stage; they failed to come when it mattered most. The Nets haven’t reached the conference finals in a decade in Brooklyn.
“I don’t care about the NBA right now and I’m rooting for St. John’s,” said Bobby Fristacci, the Catholic Youth Hall of Fame basketball coach at St. Robert Bellarmine in Bayside and Our Lady of the Snows, North Flower Park. “It’s really Kyrie who caused all the problems last year and this year.”
Irving remains the main reason many Nets fans haven’t been drawn to this season. Deacon Anthony Mammolitti of St. Dominic, Bensonhurst, N.Y., a former Knicks fan, was converted when the Nets moved to Brooklyn. As the Nets have played a little better recently, he’s starting to get more excited this season.
“The big factor is the Kyrie Irving factor,” Deacon said. “How much does he hurt the overall unity of this team? Hopefully the new coach will remind the players how talented Kyrie is and how important he is. He can make a difference when he’s on the court.”
The Eastern Conference is tough, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks off to a fast start. The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors are also playoff-caliber teams. While the Nets are in contention for a playoff spot, the reality is that the team isn’t strong enough to make a deep playoff run at this point.
Dem Bums fans always said “wait till next year” after losing to the New York Yankees in the regular season of the World Series. We’re not even a quarter of the way through the NBA season yet, and Nets fans are ready to wait until next year.
As a fan, I hope the narrative around this team changes. When things click, they can be a fun, exciting group of players. Of course, winning an NBA title would be a great way to change that narrative.
I’m as optimistic a fan as they come – I learned this from being a New York Mets fan – and I’m even willing to wait until next year.
What I’m really hoping for is a Nets parade in the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway celebrating the NBA title in 2023, using a hard copy of the Tablet Column as a streamer!
the connection Jim Mancari via email [email protected].
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