The lockout is over. Free agency is over. Preseason is over. Christmas is over. Time for Nets Basketball! The Nets traveled to Washington on Christmas night to get ready for Monday's much delayed and much anticipated Opening Night of the 2011-12 season...the Nets' last in New Jersey.
The Nets are still a work in progress. Brook Lopez is out for a month, having gone down last week. His replacement, Mehmet Okur, has gone through one full practice and may or may not start. He will play. Several other rotation players have had fewer than a week's worth of practices to get ready, including Kris Humphries, Shawne Williams and DeShawn Stevenson. But the Nets do have Deron Williams who of all the NBA's superstars has played the most competitive basketball since the lockout.
The Wizards are in the second year of their rebuilding, with few changes since the end of last season. John Wall claims he's grown an inch. He's that young. Big men JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche are back as well. The newest additions are rookies Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton and veterans Roger Mason Jr. and Ronny Turiaf, both ex-Knicks. The game will be broadcast on YES.
- New Jersey Nets Game Notes - New Jersey Nets
- Washington Wizards Game Notes - New Jersey Nets
- Getting Inside - New Jersey Nets - Sports Xchange
- Getting Inside - Washington Wizards - Sports Xchange
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New Jersey Nets vs. Washington Wizards - Preview - December 26, 2011 - Stats LLC
- Avery Johnson says Nets are going to need time to right this ship - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Nets need patience from the get-go - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Best case, worst case scenarios for Nets - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets roster - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets take stage for opener against Wizards - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- As Nets embark upon final season in New Jersey, Deron Williams remains key to the future - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
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John Wall's profile has changed, but his focus hasn't - Michael Lee - Washington Post