A high-priced new training center that opened on Wednesday. A highly regarded new general manager hired on Thursday. And a high-energy positive vibe on Friday, complete with a 109-98 win over the rival Knicks.
It made Brooklyn an undefeated 1-0 in the Sean Marks era. Could the Nets — who have suffered so much chaos and so many losses this season — be seeing their fortunes turn?
“We’re overall very confident the right moves have been made,’’ said Brook Lopez, who tied a season-high with 33 points. “Yeah, no question [the vibe is better]. We felt we came out well after the break, had two great practices in our new facility and we felt like it was a good time to play against the Knicks.’’
No, it was a great time to play them, and paddle them.
The Nets put six players in double-figures, including Donald Sloan’s 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic’s 16 points off the bench. But it might have been their defense that was most impressive, forcing 16 turnovers and holding the Knicks to .439 shooting.
The Nets used a 21-2 third-quarter run to turn a 59-54 deficit into a 74-61 lead on Wayne Ellington’s dunk. The cushion eventually hit 14, and even after seeing the Knicks cut it to three, the Nets didn’t fold. Maybe this really is a new day in Brooklyn. It started off with owner Mikhail Prokhorov introducing Marks to the players, and the new GM addressing his new team.
“[He said] stay ready. Continue to play. Change will come. Looking into the future, just get this first half behind us and let’s be ready to play,’’ said Thaddeus Young, who had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
“He said he wanted to be brief like [Gregg Popovich], so that’s a good start,’’ Lopez said. “He just wanted us to know his door was always open. Obviously we want to have a lot of communication with players and staff, all the way up to the GM and owners, and that it’s not going to be an overnight process, but we’re definitely working to move in the right direction.”
That direction includes a new $50 million state-of-the-art HSS Training Center in Industry City, and the hiring of Marks, whom Spurs GM R.C. Buford called a star.
“It definitely gives us the resources we need to become a better basketball team, and become better players, to perfect our craft and be able to go out and do the things we need to do to win games,’’ Young said.
“As far as us having a GM, it puts some clarity on the situation at hand. Now it’s time to find us a head coach, if not in the playoffs a little bit later than that. We want to get that stuff behind us so we can be able to move on and get to free agency and make some plays for some guys.’’