With opening night less than two months away, excitement for the Nets’ season builds

The Nets begin their season on October 30th in Cleveland, facing off against Kyrie Irving (above) and the Cavaliers. That game cannot come soon enough

When the Brooklyn Nets began playing at their posh new home last season, the Barclays Center, the intrigue and interest surrounding the team was incredible and unlike anything the franchise had ever seen before.

During its stint in New Jersey, the Nets were castigated aside as a small-market team playing in the shadow of the biggest American sports market, due to the popularity of the Knicks. Sure, it didn't help to play in second-rate arenas like the Izod Center and hockey-focused ones like the Prudential Center, but the fact of the matter is that the Nets had no true identity in New Jersey and an even less-present fanbase.

But with the move to Brooklyn, that has all changed.

Last season ended in failure and disappointment with the opening round loss to the Chicago Bulls in a home Game 7. However, there is new hope that the 2013-14 campaign will finally be the one in which the Nets show the league that they mean business as legitimate contender. An offseason spending spree and shrewd deals by Nets upper management ensures that the roster is set for the upcoming year, but what a team looks like on paper is often far from what it looks like on the court.

So we can't really tell the true strength of the squad until October 30th, when the Nets open up their season slate of games with a road test against the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers, who are a quickly-rebuilding group of young players that has been bolstered by countless lottery picks in recent years, including the #1 overall selection in June's draft.

Cleveland won't be winning a title anytime soon,  but the Cavs could realistically make the Eastern Conference playoffs this year, so they provide a nice opening night challenge for the untested Nets who need to build chemistry. But honestly, regardless of the result of that contest, the excitement that Nets fans and players alike have for this year and this team will not be diminished at all. Maybe dimmed for a short time, but not lessened in any way.