For as long as I can remember New York has been synonymous with basketball. It does not matter whether it is High school basketball, college or pro. And of course street ball, N.Y the home Rucker park, the place where legends are born. The one team more than any that signifies N.Y is the Knicks, always has been. Until now, the Brooklyn Nets have arrived and attracted the attention of a basketball state.
The Brooklyn vibe
Every since the Nets moved to Brooklyn back in 2012 they have had the attention of New York basketball fans. But more like in a little brother doing cute things kind of attention. Im not saying they have been bad because they have not, on the contrary, they have been good and play a hard nose up-tempo game that is really pretty good.
It’s just the Knicks have been the Flavor for so long, from Willis Reed to Patrick Ewing all the way to Carmelo Anthony. That may have all changed in the offseason when the Nets signed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Kyrie has come into the season on fire and has energized the state of N.Y. I mean the whole state as even Knicks fans are pumped up just to take on the Nets.
The start of an in-state rivalry got off on Friday in Brooklyn as the Nets and the Knicks battled. I mean they battled too. At one point Irving got a hard foul and things began to heat up quickly. Players were separated and the crowd loved every bit of it. The Barclays Centers’ new look embodies the city. The way the crowd is sat almost to the floor makes for an electric atmosphere.
At one point Kyrie was fouled and he went to the line to shoot two. The crowd had been loud and wild up till now and at this point, with Kyrie on the line they were even crazier. I know what your thinking, why was the crowd crazy with their guy at the line? That’s just it, there were loud boos and screaming that could only be Knicks fans in the building.
The fact so many Knicks fans went to Brooklyn to support them and to heckle Kyrie can only mean they are ready to battle. The Nets won 113-109, and Kyrie went for 26, but that vibe in the building was the key. Could it have all been set off by Kyrie Irving’s remarks that the Nets were taking over the entire city?
This is a great thing for the city and for both organizations as there is never anything wrong with a good rivalry. Even better when the two teams share the same area, same fans. In the NBA today we can now see two such battles take place in two of the biggest markets, N.Y and L.A. Were Those words from Kyrie the right way to go about it?
Those are big words in a city where they know basketball. If you talk that talk you better walk the walk. And on Friday he walked the walk and put an imprint on N.Y. After the game, he gave his jersey to his father that was in attendance and then he gave an interview that after all is said and done might be the topper to the new rivalry…
He proclaimed “This is our house!” and said it emphatically. Who right now can question him as he won the first battle. It was an eclectic battle that gave everyone in the state something to cheer for. It also gives Knicks fans something to shoot for, beating the Nets. I think it may take more than one game for N.Y to go straight to a Nets town. It will take more than two stars. But if the Nets start to win consistently and when Durrant gets back they make a run at a title, the Nets may just take over N.Y.
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