Monday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Other 2013-14 games between these two teams
Sunday, Feb. 9, New Orleans at Brooklyn
Why it’s on the list
It wasn’t long ago that the Nets were one of the NBA’s most nondescript teams, with few recognizable faces. That’s changed drastically under the ownership of Mikhail Prokhorov, who has led a franchise transformation that included the Nets’ move from New Jersey to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn last season.
On the court, the Nets have one of the most well-known starting fives in basketball, with a past or current star at every position. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson form one of the league’s best backcourts, while All-Star center Brook Lopez enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2012-13. The Nets made one of the summer’s blockbuster moves when they acquired Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from Boston.
As an Eastern Conference club, the Nets’ trip to New Orleans in late March is their only stop of 2013-14 to Louisiana. The Pelicans’ home game against the Nets is part of one of New Orleans’ most attractive homestands of the season, including consecutive tilts against Miami, Brooklyn and the Clippers.
There are few noteworthy ties between the Pelicans and Nets, other than that Ryan Anderson was drafted by then-New Jersey and played the 2008-09 season there.
What’s new in Brooklyn
The hiring of Jason Kidd as head coach and trade for Garnett and Pierce understandably drew most of the headlines in Brooklyn this summer, but the Nets also made a few underrated moves to strengthen their depth. Jason Terry was included in the trade with the Celtics and figures to give the Nets a boost behind Williams and Johnson in the backcourt. Brooklyn also signed versatile forward Andrei Kirilenko in free agency, along with steady veteran backup point guard Shaun Livingston. Mason Plumlee of Duke was the team’s first-round pick.