NETS OPEN TWO-GAME PRESEASON VS. WIZARDS ON DECEMBER 13

Are we 16 days from the debut of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Nets uniforms?!?

The Nets announced Friday afternoon that they will open the 2020-21 season with a two-game preseason schedule highlighted by one game at Barclays Center.

The preseason schedule tips off at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, when Brooklyn hosts the Wizards at Barclays Center. The Nets will then travel to Boston to face the Celtics on the road on Friday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. No word yet on whether both or either will be broadcast on YES Network.

The Nets are expected to open their regular season on December 22 but that schedule has not been released.

Durant, of course, spent last season rehabbing following an Achilles rupture in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in June 2019. Irving, troubled by shoulder issues, played only 20 games.

It’s highly unlikely either game will have any fans in the stands. Barclays Center, the Nets announcement noted, will follow New York State guidelines to determine when fans can return to games. “Current guidelines do not permit fans,” the announcement noted. Massachusetts has similar guidelines that will prevent fans at the December 19 game.

The Wizards game may also see the return of another NBA superstar, John Wall, who like KD, suffered a ruptured Achilles and was out all last season, Durant, Irving and Wall worked out together in Los Angeles.

Here’s the full NBA preseason schedule...

• Knicks and Nets preseason schedules are out - Marc Berman - New York Post
• NBA releases shorter preseason schedule; games start Dec. 11 - Tim Reynolds - AP