Expectations for the Nets are heightened with the addition of new players chief among them, defensive players, Ed Davis, and Kenneth Faried

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

KEISHA: Welcome back to What's The 411Sports. We're in a New York state of mind with our “New York Sports Report” and we are going to talk about our Brooklyn Nets. It was media day across the NBA and the Brooklyn Nets had their own, and there were a good number of (Nets) players who really think that they have enough pieces to do significantly better this year than last, playoffs even.

While there is some that are a little more cautious and just believing that they'll get more wins without going so far as to say that they would make the playoffs. Mike, are the players right to be cautiously optimistic, or should they be more aggressive in their thinking and their beliefs on how they're going to do this season?

MIKE: No, I think that they're right to be cautious here because yeah, I think the over-under is something like 31 or maybe even thirty-two wins for the Nets for the wins for the upcoming season. They won 27 or 28 games last year. So, and I know that doesn't seem like much improvement, but I think that there's no question in my mind that this team will wind up winning more games than they did last season. They know that people can look at that and say well, you know, it's not much of an improvement. But when your win column is really that depleted and you don't have much it's good to pick up on something.

I think Kenny (Atkinson), he's gotten comfortable here. Now. I saw him in an interview on the Yes Network about a week or two ago. And the guy just seems like he's very upbeat. I like his energy. I think that the big focus for this team, of course, is going to be defense right? Because they know that without a doubt that that's one of the things that really hurt them over the last couple of seasons.

That first quarter, like sometimes the first five, ten minutes of the game they’re in it and then all of a sudden everything just seems to fall apart and then by the end of the first quarter, they're down by 15 points. And, I think that those collapses are something that they're really going to try to look to avoid.

You can't knock this team's heart. I can't tell you how many Net games we've seen over the last several years, a couple of years, and they're in it, right even back when Lionel Hollins was coaching. Yeah, they were not winning many games but there were times where they'd be playing tight games against the Cleveland Cavaliers or even when the Knicks were somewhat competitive and they would keep games close.

You mentioned off air I know you might want to speak about it. But Ed Davis, I think is really someone that people are going to want to keep an eye on this year. This guy's tough-minded, no question about it. And I think the rebounding is something that he's going to lead a big focus on for them.

KEISHA: Yeah and Kenneth Faried, I actually like him too. I think he's going to be a really nice piece for the Brooklyn Nets and I think that you know, I think that aiming for more wins than last year is attainable. So, I'm, just quick, I have decided that for the remaining quarter of this year. I'm going to set goals for myself.

I've never done it really in a formalized, formalized manner and I'm going to do it because that is one of the keys for highly successful people and if it works for them why not try it. So you set smart goals and S.M.A.R.T is an acronym and the "A" stands for attainable, and I think that saying that you're going to win more games than last year is attainable.

So I looked at last year's playoff standings and the Wizards had the eighth spot. They were the last team to make the playoffs and they won 43 games. Last year, the Nets won 28. So that's a differential of 15 games. Now, the Nets had an increase of eight games from the year prior to last year. So in order to kind of ...I guess if they can make the playoff that means they have to make, they have to double. Now, it may not be impossible, but because it's like, all right, you won eight games last year why not win eight more. But you've got a lot of new pieces coming in. So I think it might be a little too aggressive to say that you can win 16 games with new pieces. But I definitely, I definitely see more wins for the team. I say about, I'll say 38.

MIKE: All right, okay.

For the New York Knicks at 3-4, defeating the Atlanta Hawks tonight 95-91, seven games in and 75 more games left to complete their 82-game campaign, their world is already crumbling before they can experience enough time to be wholesome. Those to blame for their less than impressive start to their season include the cheerleaders, the president, and general manager, the hot dog vendors, as well as, the vending machines.

The blame game has already begun as well as the finger-pointing. One would assume that there would be a level of confidence attached to the New York Knicks label based on the season they enjoyed not too long ago capturing the Atlantic Division Crown, and winning 54 games in the process. To the naked eye, this team hardly resembles the team that accomplished those achievements last year due to the numerous roster changes in personnel but what’s most alarming about their start is their current mindset. Last year's Knicks team, although it struggled to play defense throughout the year, a re-occurring theme for the past decade, played with a certain level of intensity, focusing on competing against all challengers no matter the match-up and the strain. Last year’s Knicks team entered the season with expectations that they placed upon themselves of what they envisioned for themselves, revolving around the prime objective of winning an NBA championship, and with wins against the Spurs (which made me feel for the first time in a decade that the Knicks had arrived), three victories against the Miami Heat, as well as, winning a game on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, fans, the public as well as myself believed that a championship was actually within reach. Sadly, thus far, I have not seen that same aura that surrounded the Knicks last year.

When you hear starting point guard Raymond Felton state that "I've got to play harder," team owner James Dolan requesting must-wins against the likes of the Atlanta Hawks, and star forward Carmelo Anthony having to validate the coaching of head coach Mike Woodson to the media, there is obviously a problem.

Tonight's win should grant the Knicks some breathing room until they face the Houston Rockets tomorrow night at home in an early season test against a Western conference contender. The result should indicate the direction of where this season’s destination will be.

The loss of center Tyson Chandler, out 4-6 weeks suffering a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula courtesy of a penetration dribble by Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker last week, will definitely impact the Knicks defense around the basket. The black cat has not left MSG as yet. This latest loss to their frontline makes their inside presence as soft as gummy bears relying on center Andrea Bargnani to be the last line, the enforcer. This loss to their front-court has prompted management to inquire about the services of Forward Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets a rebounding demon for G Iman Shumpert, in my opinion, an absolute mistake not because of what Faried can provide but because of what Shumpert can become, and that's one of the best two-way shooting guards in the league.

All in all, I believe it is too early to panic regarding the Knicks current state due to the infant stages of this 2013-2014 NBA season. Mike Woodson is still trying to find the correct ingredients in assembling the first and second unit. J.R. Smith has just returned furthermore planning to remind us all who the reigning 2012-2013 Sixth Man of The Year is. Bargnani is not comfortable yet, although recording a double-double in tonight's affair with 20 points and 11 rebounds seem as though he’s getting his feet wet, enjoying his new role and responsibilities and at the end of the day Melo is still on the roster right? Let them play.

As for Thursday's nationally televised wine and dine between the Knicks and the Rockets, I expect a shootout, if the Knicks are willing to respond because I know the Rockets will. James Harden is only scratching the surface of becoming the best shooting guard in the league behind Lakers G Kobe Bryant and Heat G Dwyane Wade. Every player in the NBA salivates at the opportunity to lace them up against their former employers and look for G Jeremy Lin to expose the Knicks as well as Felton. I do not know who on this roster is capable of defending Rockets C Dwight Howard but it will be fun to observe the Knicks and the schemes they will entertain and execute against arguably the best big man in the NBA. The only way the Knicks will be successful this season is if they replicate the production they relished last season and that is scoring more than the other team, a feat that Anthony has to spearhead being the Numero Uno. We'll see how much the Rockets fare under the Broadway lights as well as the North Pole conditions that we love so much as natives.

Johnson hits 3-pointer at the buzzer; it stings the Nuggets and stuns the crowd

Instead of sending the Brooklyn faithful home with a comfortable win vs. the Denver Nuggets, Joe Johnson and co. elected to go the thrilling route. The savvy veteran coolly banked in a game-winning three with time expiring, on one leg, to defeat the Nuggets, 105-104. Prior to the shot, the Nets seemed to have shot themselves in the foot on their last possession.

With 45 seconds left in the 4th, Markel Brown turned the ball over looking for a cutting Johnson, who was moving towards the basket, on the baseline. The Nuggets intercepted and Kenneth Faried made the Nets pay by converting a tough layup defended by Shane Larkin, a mismatch, which gave the Nuggets a 104-102 lead, 1.3 secs left in the final quarter.

“I thought it was over,” Faried said regarding his go-ahead basket.

The Nets could've sulked, hung their heads and looked towards the next opponent but they didn't. They responded, and Johnson, like he's done for the majority of his career, hit another big shot.

“I didn’t think that thing had a chance when he (Joe Johnson) threw it up, but shooters are going to shoot and they’re going to make big shots,” said Faried who finished with a double-double, in 22 points and 13 rebounds. “I mean, he’s been an All-Star. He’s known for making big shots like that, and he did it tonight against us.”

The game had all the makings of what could've been a tough Nets home loss because they led and were in control in the first half. The Nets hit nine of their first 11 shots, up 19-11 with under six min left in the 1st quarter, led by Thaddeus Young who scored 10 points during the stretch.

They went up by as many as 16 in the second until Faried led a Denver comeback with eight points in the final four minutes of the second that closed the gap to six points, 49-55 at the break. In the second half of the game, the Nets and Nuggets traded baskets continuously and we all knew that at the pace both teams were competing at, an exciting finish was expected. Although the Nets won the game, execution down the stretch continued to hurt the Nets.

In the final seven minutes of the game, the Nets committed five costly turnovers which allowed the Nuggets to keep the game within distance and even take the lead to which Brown referenced turnovers.

“We tried to run a couple of plays and for whatever reason we still make poor decisions down the stretch, and we are still trying to work on that,” Brown said post-game.

Brooklyn’s interim head coach Tony Brown mentioned two plays down the stretch involving Brook Lopez (16 points) and Johnson (12 points) where the team tried to feed their best players the ball and on both occasions ended up in the visitor’s hands.

“So those situations hopefully we learn from because if we can get a shot, I like our chances in making them but we just can’t do it when we give away the ball like that, Coach Brown said.”

Off the bench, the Nets received healthy contributions from Markel Brown, the team’s 2nd leading scorer for this game, recording 19 points; and Bojan Bogdanovic who chipped in 12 points. The buzzer-beater won the headlines but so did Nets rookie forward Chris McCullough.

McCullough (2015 1st round draft pick), who hasn’t played since January of 2015 when he tore his ACL-16 games into his collegiate career-checked into the Nets win early in the second quarter and scored his first NBA basket on a mid-range jumper, according to ESPN.com.

“It just felt good to be out there, playing my game, doing what I do, block shots, rebound on the floor,” McCullough said who added two points, two rebounds one block and a steal. “Just to finally hear my name called, it felt great.”

Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver’s 2015 lottery pick was a little sloppy. He flashed brilliance dishing eight assists but struggled with his shot, and totaled just seven points and turned the ball over four times too many. Mudiay showed the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon exactly what they are missing at the point, with 15 points and nine assists but against the Nets, couldn’t mirror his performance offensively.

“He was only 3-10 from the field,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. “He had eight assists and four turnovers, so he did some good things.”

Gary Harris his backcourt mate, played well, totaling 17 points and former Knick, Danilo Gallinari led all Nuggets with 24 points. The Nets will have a day off to enjoy the win and then will get back to work hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.