Nets drop opener 98-94 to Cleveland



The expectations for the Nets this season is championship or bust. Expectations are also high for the Cavaliers this season. Andrew Bynum shocked everyone when he returned in the Cavs home and season opener. He spoiled the Nets coming out party by stealing some of their thunder. The Pierce and Garnett era didn't start as planned. The Cavs controlled this game for the most part. The Nets made a run late in the 4th, and hey what do you know. The Nets were down five with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and Paul Pierce hit a big three, and then KG executed a beautiful alley-oop to Lopez to tie the game at 91-91.

That's why the Nets made the trade. They wanted the clutch play of both KG and Pierce, plus their years of experience, and championship moxie. Varejao nailed a jumper to give the Cavs a 93-91 lead, and Pierce was unable to connect on the game knotting basket on the next play. The Cavs pulled off the win 98-94. Garnett put up 8 points, and 10 boards while logging just 26 minutes. Paul was solid with 17 points in 30 minutes. After the game KG expressed patience, and Pierce shared the same thoughts.

ESPN

"Everyone has to be patient," Garnett said. "It's not just because you assemble guys and things are going to just voila. We're not a perfect team by far, but we are a hard working team. We're a team with no excuses."

"Obviously it hurts but we have to go back and look at the reason why we lost this game," Pierce said. "Throughout the course of the season we have to understand it's always going to be about the little things. To be a championship team, you have to clean those things up."

That sounds like KG, and to give the Nets an excuses. They went up against a solid team on opening night in their gym. Another excuses the Nets can use is that Deron Williams played just 22 minutes as he continues to recover from a sprained ankle. The Nets could have used him in this game. The Nets will be fine, and I think they'll take the Celtics approach with the season. Just make it to the playoffs healthy.

Follow Shawn on Twitter-@Celticstitletow
Video from NBAshowtimeHD2