Debby Wong-USA Today Sports
This upcoming season could very well be when the rivalry between The New York Knicks and The Brooklyn Nets really breaks through. With The Nets’ hiring of Jason Kidd as head coach, this may have been one of the final puzzle pieces The only event that could have made the rivalry potentially more intense is if The Nets hired Patrick Ewing.
Each team has a superstar with questionable leadership skills, as is the case with Carmelo Anthony for The Knicks and Deron Williams for The Nets. Both teams also have players that have had high expectations but have yet to truly meet them, with Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson. However, this is where the similarities end.
Although The Knicks are more talented, The Nets seem to play more like a unit. Often times during Knicks games, it can seem like players are just standing and watching Anthony. Also, it seems like Nets forwards Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace simply work harder than Stoudemire. Of course, defense comes into play here, with The Knicks losing out to their counterparts in the other borough in that department.
As far as arenas go, there is obviously no comparison. The Barclays Center will never come close to Madison Square Garden. The Garden will always have that aura that the young Barclays Center could dream to eventually have with only one year under its belt. When talking about fans, the “Brooklyn” chants by Nets fans seem to be lacking any true emotion. The “Defense” chants at The Garden clearly win that battle.
Ultimately, this rivalry will be good for New York City and for both teams. It always felt like The Knicks needed a hometown rival. When The Nets were in New Jersey, the efforts to make it seem like a rivalry just never seemed right. It will be interesting to see how this rivalry plays out over the years.
Maybe there will be an Eastern Conference Finals showdown between the two teams. That would qualify as a subway series. Who would have thought a subway series could potentially occur in New York City with basketball teams? Unfortunately, as long as the Miami Heat are around, this may be nothing more than a fantasy.
