Long Island Nets lose homecourt for Finals

The Long Island Nets are adrift in the G League Finals.

Due to conflicts with other events at Nassau Coliseum, the Eastern Conference champs will host the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Sunday, then a week from Friday (if necessary) at Island Federal Arena on the Stony Brook University campus in Stony Brook. The G League Finals is a best-of-3 series.

The arena is considerably smaller than the Coliseum and an hour’s drive east from the Coliseum where the Nets played all their home games but one this past season. The Nets secured home court advantage for the entire playoffs with a post-All Star Break run.

The Nets had won 12 straight home games in Uniondale, the last 10 regular season games and two playoff games including Tuesday’s dramatic overtime win that put them in the Finals.

On Sunday, April 7, the Nets will play Game 1 at the Island Federal while the Coliseum hosts the Long Island Boat Show which is running from Friday through Sunday. Game 2 will be held Tuesday, April 9, in Edinburg, Texas, home of Rio Grande. Game 3 (if necessary) on Friday, April 12, will also be held at Stony Brook. Nassau will be hosting PJ Masks, a family show, that night.

First notice of the change came on the Long Island Ticketmaster page.

There was no explanation.

Island Federal Arena is a 4,160-seat multi-purpose arena on the University campus and home of the Stony Brook Seawolves men’s and women’s basketball teams. Nassau seats more than three times that many for NBA games but the Nets regular season games and first two playoff games have been drawing crowds of 2,500 or so.

How does this happen? In the NBA, all teams are required to block out playoff games at their home arenas, whether it’s the Golden State Warriors or New York Knicks. That is not the case in the G League.

Will it affect the outcome of the games? They will be the first the Nets have ever played at Stony Brook. Good Luck.