... And then, they play the Heat

After the big party to celebrate Jason Kidd's jersey retirement, the Nets and the Heat get their first look at each other, the first of six meetings in preseason and regular season ... and perhaps more in the spring?  The game and pregame ceremony will be broadcast by TNT and YES, starting at 8 p.m.

Here's the schedule... from the Nets website:

7:38	Arrive early and be in your seat
8:00	NBA TV Studio on TNT
8:05	Guest Speaker
8:06	Guest Speaker
8:07	Jason Kidd speaks
8:09	Banner raised to rafters
8:19	Tip

The Heat are two time defending champs and the oldest team in the NBA, about seven months older than the Nets on average although their starting lineup is younger. They're also the most experienced team in the league with an average of 8.3 seasons, just ahead of the Nets. Of course, there's LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem and Chris "Birdman" Anderson and both Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole. There's also Greg Oden and Michael Beasley, two big off-season additions who may or may not play a lot.

They are not a perfect machine They have vulnerabilities, particularly defending against skilled big men. That's one reason Billy King stocked up on bigs, trading for Kevin Garnett, drafting Mason Plumlee, re-signing Andray Blatche and stealing Andrei Kirilenko. The Nets are unlikely to have AK-47 or Deron Williams.

Meanwhile, there's some sniping out of Miami. It goes back to last year, when Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry criticized Allen for leaving Boston for Miami (and ultimately his second ring). Terry questioned Allen's loyalty when he refused to "stick through the tough times."

"The first thing that I thought was like, `Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston and now these guys are leaving Boston," James said. "I think it's OK. I don't mind it, but there was a couple guys that basically [criticized] Ray for leaving and everybody else is leaving."

"People say things about people when they decide to do something but then people do the same thing," said Wade."It's about putting yourself in the best situation. It's about doing what's best for your family."

Wade did say bad blood with the Celtics will "transfer well" to Nets. Wade, Chalmers and Beasley are all questionable. Oden is out.

• Brooklyn Nets: Pre-Season Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Miami Heat: Pre-Season Game Notes - Miami Heat
• Jason was no ordinary Jersey Kidd - Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN New York
  
• Nets ready for a close-up look at LeBron James, Heat - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Nets Will Have to Divide One Ball Among Five Scorers - Michael Salfino - Wall Street Journal
• LeBron James and Dwyane Wade see hypocrisy in Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry and Paul Pierce leaving Celtics for Nets - Ira Winderman - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
• Miami Heat call out former Boston Celtics players, coach - Brian Windhorst - ESPN
• LeBron James startled by hypocrisy of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce leaving Celtics for Nets - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Kenyon Martin puts Kidd in the class of Magic and Stockton - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• SOLVED: The mysterious case of Wendell Ladner's (un)retired jersey - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
  
• Jason Kidd honored to have Nets jersey retired - Howie Kussoy - New York Post
• Nets Rewind: Blatche could benefit from Garnett rest - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• D-Will, Kirilenko and Terry out vs. Heat - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Vegas, ESPN.com agree on Nets - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Starting five: Can Nets take the Heat? - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
  
• Jason Kidd making strides in his first preseason - Josh Newman - SNY Nets
  
• Charles Barkley: Greg Oden is the key to Heat's 3-peat - Jeff Zillgitt - USA Today
  
• Dwyane Wade Says Heat’s Bad Blood With Celtics Will ‘Transfer Well’ to Brooklyn Nets - Ben Watanabe - NESN
• Brooklyn Nets are the NBA's best chance to prevent Miami Heat three-peat, says Gary Payton - Ben Jefferson - London Express
• Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade commentary - Ira Winderman - South Florida Sun-Sentinel