Early in the morning on Sunday–Eastern time of course–the Brooklyn Nets won their first preseason game of the year against another NBA team, as they edged the Sacramento Kings 97-95 in China.
Thanks a late Sergey Karasev block on a Ben McLemore shot, Brooklyn was able to hold on in a close game that was on NBA TV. It was a close one throughout, and yet another contest in which Brook Lopez looked like his old, usual self as he distances himself further and further from the broken foot that cut his 2013-14 season short.
Brook scored a team-high 18 points on just 13 shots, to go with six rebounds–a decent total but not enough boards for someone his size. Jerome Jordan, a training camp invite of the Nets, also was impressive, and if he can keep playing well, may just earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Moving on, Brooklyn finishes up its China trip on Wednesday (night in China, morning in the US), playing the Kings for a final time. Then the Nets will head back home to end the preseason with back-to-back home games against the Celtics and 76ers before a road game in Boston on October 22nd, where they will start the regular season a week later.
If it seems like a bit of a rushed preseason this time around, it’s because it is. When the preseason is over, the Nets will have played six games in two countries in just over two weeks. Most NBA teams play seven or eight preseason games, in a longer span of time than just 15 days. But that’s what the Nets get for getting chosen to play in China.
As long as no one on the team gets hurt during this quick, travel-heavy period of time, Lionel Hollins and the Nets won’t really mind. Again, it’s important to remember not to take away a ton of conclusions from the preseason, as it’s not much more than a precursor to the regular season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
