So I wanted to give you guys a firsthand account of the WhiteWolves game last night. I went to the game for a few reasons. To see the Whitest NBA team in my adult life play live. To check out the new Barclays Center which is basically in my neighborhood. Also, tickets were cheap and I wanted to "vote with my dollar" and support the TWolves.
Let me start by saying, the arena is beautiful. They brought in alot of local restaurants to give the concession stands a Brooklyn feel. I'm all for that and it's a huge upgrade over the typical crappy hot dogs and nachos. They also have local brewers, Brooklyn Brewery and SixPoint, around different stands. As for the crowd, it was a mix of people varying from yuppies, suburbanites, hipsters, blacks and other minorities. I'm happy to report no TNB other than loads of rap music over the speaker system. On to the game.
Minny only started 3 Whites due to injuries and the starting lineup struggled most of the night especially in the 1st half. The TWolves could not hit any jump shots. Pekovic carried the team and honestly was the guy who kept the game in reach. AK47 was solid too. Ridnour was invisible. Roy looks like a shell of his former self. He is slow, un-athletic and couldn't hit his shots though he did distribute the ball rather well. He maybe rusty or just a role player going forward. Derrick Williams looks like a bust for a top 5 overall pick. He was ineffective in almost every way logging only 18 minutes all game and a -12 when he was on the court. They trailed by 15 at the half and it seemed like they were tired and it just wasn't going to be their night.
The 2nd half really picked up late in the 3rd quarter when they began to cut the lead with some good shooting (finally) and solid defense. For me, the momentum shifted when Alexey Shved finally got some extended playing time (he might not have played in the 1st half). He brought great energy and looks like a great orchestrator. Shved, teamed with Chase Budinger, JJ Barea, Kirilenko, Dante Cunningham and later Pek again, brought the team back. Budinger was especially clutch and I hope he gets more minutes and a bigger scoring role going forward. The video posted by Phall really recaps some key moments. The first jam by Bud really was my favorite "live" moment. Brooklyn needed to see an explosive athlete!
As for the Nets, they played well in the first half but looked like a Rucker Park squad when things started to unravel in the 4th. Ballhoging. Rushed shots. Sloppy turnovers. An inability to hit outside shots. Anyway, Mirza Teletovic played his first NBA action and scored 5 points in only 4 mins. He should play more as he provided a spark when he got his limited chances. He had a nice 3 pointer and a dunk.
Overall I had a great time and actually enjoyed an NBA game again. Seeing Minny play with 4 Whites for much of the game and 8 Whites logging minutes was great. I'll be going back to Barclays in a few weeks for the Legends Classic, some college hoops. I'm going to see the hopefully still #1 ranked Indiana Hoosers and Cody Zeller. They'll either play UCLA (Wear Twins) or Georgetown (dark as always). Should be great and this time I'll sample some of the good, albeit overpriced, food.
uke:
