The Nets had their team New Years Eve party in a Cleveland hotel Saturday, then retired early to get ready for the first game of 2012 against a young Cavaliers team. The Cavs are officially rebuilding according to their owner, Dan Gilbert, and so far, so good.
On Draft Night, they took 6'3" Duke PG Kyrie Irving at #1, then 6'9" Texas PF Tristan Thompson three slots later. How young is young? Irving is 20; Thompson 19. Both are doing well, and the Cavs are 1-2 with a win over the Pistons and an overtime loss to the Pacers. The Cavs also traded for Omri Casspi, who mans the SF position.
For the Nets, the game is an opportunity to get their second win. After two poor games at home vs. the Hawks and away against the Magic, the team seemed to turn things around in Atlanta on Friday, but couldn't get the victory. While Irving and Thompson are among the rookie leaders in several categories, MarShon Brooks, taken at #25, is the NBA's top rookie scorer at 15.2 ppg.
- New Jersey Nets Game Notes - New Jersey Nets
- Cleveland Cavaliers Game Notes - Cleveland Cavaliers
- Getting Inside - New Jersey Nets - Sports Xchange
- Getting Inside - Cleveland Cavaliers - Sports Xchange
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Nets-Cavaliers Preview - Nets-Cavaliers Preview - Kate Hedlin - STATS LLC
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Deron Williams, Nets see reason to hope after loss to Atlanta Hawks - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Without Brook Lopez, Deron Williams needs to pick new role with New Jersey - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Nets expecting better things in the future - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets’ Deron Williams signing saga similar to LeBron James’ situation in 2009-10 - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
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Cleveland Cavaliers work to rebuild fans' support while renovating the roster - Tom Reed - Cleveland Plain-Dealer