With the Brooklyn Nets schedule released, it’s clear that they are still flying under the radar entering the 2019-20 season.
The Brooklyn Nets made a cannonball-sized splash in free agency this summer, but they still might be overlooked. While Kevin Durant rehabs his ruptured Achilles, the Nets will look to exceed expectations for the second straight season.
On Monday, the NBA released the schedule for the 2019-20 season. The team’s first nationally televised game will be against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 1. That’s the first of 12 times the Nets will be featured on ESPN or TNT.
Obviously, that’s quite a bump from last season, but Brooklyn is still somewhere in the middle of the pack on nationally televised games. The Los Angeles Lakers (31 games), Milwaukee Bucks (24 games), and Golden State Warriors (30 games) are all teams that, understandably, have more national appearances.
However, the Boston Celtics (25 games), New Orleans Pelicans (20 games), and Denver Nuggets (17 games) are all teams that will get more national exposure.
That’s bad news for Nets fans nationwide, but it might not be the worst news for head coach Kenny Atkinson and his squad. Part of what made Brooklyn’s 2018-19 season so much fun was how they came from nowhere.
The new-look Nets have much higher expectations this season, but they are still going to be overlooked to a certain extent.
There are a number of notable games on the schedule for the Nets this season. The home opener comes in the team’s first game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The team will turn around and host the New York Knicks two days later. That will be the first of four meetings with their crosstown rival (Oct. 25, Nov. 24, Dec. 26, and Jan. 26).
Kyrie Irving‘s first return to Boston will come on Friday, Nov. 29, one day after Thanksgiving. It’s safe to say, Celtics fans will be hanging from the rafters in TD Garden to “thank” Irving for his two years in Boston.
D’Angelo Russell will return to Barclays Center on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Although he was only in Brooklyn for two years, Russell will be given a hero’s welcome for his part in the franchise’s rebuild.
