Nets Open House at the Prudential Center
September 30, 2010
NEWARK, N.J.—Everyone broke out the shiny sneakers for this one. The Nets made their first official appearance as tenants of the Prudential Center on Thursday, kicking off the public portion of the 2010-11 campaign with an “Open House” practice in Newark, N.J.
Entering the court to Jay-Z’s “Run This Town,” the team ran through a series of warmup drills, led by strength and conditioning coach
“Thanks for being here,” Johnson said. “We’re putting together a real nice team, and we’re excited for the season. Tonight, it’s all about you. It’s not about us, it’s about you.”
With that, he handed the microphone to point guard Devin Harris, who quipped about each of his teammates while introducing them one-by-one. The team then split into two squads: Harris’ Blue team, which also included Anthony Morrow, Kris Humphries and Johan Petro; and the White team – Jordan Farmar, Terrence Williams, Travis Outlaw, Derrick Favors and Brook Lopez.
Favors opened the scoring with a slashing weakside finish, following an assist from Lopez, who passed off as a double team closed. Shortly before halftime, Outlaw missed a floater, but skied high to tip-dunk the rebound before anyone else got a hand on it.
Season-ticket holder Mike Richards made the trek from North Babylon, L.I. after renewing his season tickets for the first time. He said he liked the closer seating offered by the Prudential Center, which gave him a nice, clean look at the action.
“It’s a new, exciting team – I want to see what they can do,” said Richardson, at halftime. “Right now, they’re playing hard, they’re playing tough, and it looks like they have what it takes.
White eventually pulled away to beat Blue, 36-27, behind a strong performances from Williams and Farmar. Williams’ penetration led to several layups and assists, though he suffered a right thigh contusion late in the game (he’s day-to-day), while Farmar nailed several catch-and-shoot three-pointers.
“It felt like a good turnout, a very warm reception for us,” Harris said. “Everything was different. Even just driving over here, there’s new routes you’ve got to take, and you have to factor in traffic. Today was a good day to get a feel for it – I got lost in the locker room, ha. We’re getting used to it, but it’s going to be a good fit for us.”
