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Nets coach Kenny Atkinson grew up on Long Island and he knows the history of sports rivalries between bridges and tunnels. He knows the great Ranger Islanders playoff battles of his childhood, the Subway series of baseball and the difficulties inherent in making a N.B.A. Interborough. rivalry.
And Atkinson knows that at this point, the Nets and the Knicks are not rivals, at least in terms of competition.
"I keep saying that we hope the two programs will continue to grow," said Atkinson before the Nets' home opener Friday night against the Knicks at Barclays Center. "We are both good, and it gets even fiercer and more important over the years."
But by then, it will be a race to see which team can win 30 games first. Or which rookie has the biggest impact. Or what project of reconstruction makes his project a reality.
The Knicks coach, David Fizdale, is a guy from the West Coast, but he understands too. "I think both of our teams have to win a lot more before we call this a serious rivalry," Fizdale said before the game. "You have to win that. I know how is the coach Atkinson. He is like me. We want to make a living and push guys to do it the right way. "
"We have to reach a point," he added, "where our teams play a kind of basketball that deserves a rivalry."
In other words, the Friday night game was meant to be more measured than passionate, friendly instead of venomous. Two teams on the same track. Root yourself for each other, even.
"Obviously, when we do not play, I'm looking for a New York team," said Fizdale. Which is logical because a rivalry requires both teams to be good; there must be more to hope than a quick home return for the visiting team.
"They have to be good at the same time," said former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. "Being bad at the same time does not help. Now it's a race to see who can improve significantly faster. It will be great if both teams arrive together. This should be a series in which the city is on fire four times a season. "
According to Van Gundy, the climb is easier for the Knicks: one of the founders of Kristaps Porzingis, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament; a potential star in Enes Kanter; and maybe another in rookie Kevin Knox.
"The Nets are behind the eight ball," Van Gundy said. "No, make it the 15th ball. This one business has made things so difficult for so long. They do not have the foundation. "
He was referring to the fact that the Nets are abandoning their future for the past with the In 2013, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry moved from Boston to Brooklyn. The Nets dropped three first-round picks in hopes of forming a top team that would never have materialized.
And now, in their seventh season as a Brooklyn team, working under their sixth coach since they left New Jersey, they are … well, see Van Gundy's comment.
But Atkinson, in his third season as a coach, has chosen to focus on what could be, the possibility of a true N.B.A. battles between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
"It's great for New York City, great for the Nets, great for the Knicks, great for the fans," he said. "That's what it's about. These are special games.
"Why is this great? It's Manhattan, Brooklyn. It's a rivalry: Mets-Yankees, Rangers-Islanders. There are only a few cities like this where you have two professional teams in the area. Just across a bridge from each other. I like that. "
Friday night's game, a 107-105 victory over the Nets on Caris LeVert's lay-up with a second left, may be a new episode of the false rivalry, but it may also be a clue to that that was going to happen.
As soon as the arena announcer introduced the "Crosstown rival", several rows of supporters in the Nets jerseys attempted to drown the names on the Knicks list with a singing acclaim from "Brooook- Lyn, Brooook-Lyn.
Before the end of the match, Spencer Dinwiddie, goalkeeper of the nets, took the microphone and addressed a nearly full house.
"We are delighted and hope that you too," said Dinwiddie. The speech was certainly falling short of the moving comments that he made during the preseason, when he stated that the Nets are "better than the Knicks."
At the time, he wondered why anyone would think otherwise: "We had almost the same record last year and their best player will not play until February," he said.
On Friday, the rivalry discussion was less lively.
"It's a pride," said Lance Thomas, a Knicks striker who grew up in New York and New Jersey. "Who wants to be the best team in New York? Once the programs are launched, people will say, "Okay, we are the best team." That will increase as both programs determine things. "
As players geared up for the 192nd regular-season meeting between the two franchises, Skrillex's song "Purple Lamborghini" and Rick Ross sounded throughout the arena.
"Forgive me for my wrongs, I have just started," the chorus said with good reason.
After Levert's layout, the all-time record between the two franchises was 98-94, Knicks. Almost same. Which seems about right.
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