Rockets-Nets Barclays Center 2.22.13 - My Perspective

My thoughts from last night's game. (Sorry....they are many, so this is probably too long.)

I had a great seat, seven rows up, right at center court. The people who sat in front of me didn't show up until about halfway through the game, which made the view and the seat even better.

It was my first time at Barclays Center. Very nice arena. And such an easy train ride from midtown Manhattan. I got there about an hour before the game. Carlos and James were still on the court shooting. James (who had been last off when I'd attended the game at MSG) left soon after I got there but Carlos stayed out quite a bit longer. By game time, the arena was mostly full. The family sitting to one side of me (a Mom, a guy who I would guess was her dad, and her little boy) were there to see Jeremy and the Rockets. The little guy was so into the game, too. Nice to be able to sit among cheering Rockets fans. The guys behind were Nets fans but had a lot to say about both Jeremy and James (all good).

As has been mentioned elsewhere, Jeremy got a nice warm ovation when he was announced. The crowd treated him well throughout, cheering loudly when he got that basket with the shot clock running out and then on another really nice layup. They audibly oohed, aahed and gasped on a few of those passes to Smith and Motiejunas. They also taunted him a little, or at least some of them did, when he threw up an airball, but only very briefly.

There were quite a few Rockets fans in the arena. Seemed about evenly split to me, based on the strength and volume of the cheers. Although, toward the end, when the Nets were making a comeback, it did get very loud in there, in support of the home team.

The guys behind me, although knowing Jeremy and James, were not so familiar with some of the others. After one of Omer's numerous beautiful plays, the one guy said, "Who is that guy? He looks like Big Bird"....They weren't trying to be disrespectful. They appreciated his game...and, you know, I can see that. He kind of does look like Big Bird. They were trying to figure out where we got Motiejunas from. And they were impressed with Carlos' and Beverley's 3-point shooting.

Beverley is a little waterbug out there, constant motion and hustle. He does bring the energy. Even on the bench, he ran 3/4 way down the court to greet the team coming off the floor for one of the time outs. He fouls a lot and sometimes he's a little out of control but he never gives up on a play.

Carlos is the most facially animated human being I think I've ever come across. He has a face for everything. He's also pretty animated on the bench. Actually, I think they all kind of are, talking to the guys on the floor during the game and during the timeouts. The guys are always talking to each other. When Beverley was on the floor, Jeremy was shouting stuff out to him from the bench. Carlos would hop up from the bench when there was a break in the game to whisper something into DMo's ear. On the court, James and Jeremy are consulting nearly every time there's a break in the action, or one of them is talking to someone else....Asik, Parsons, Carlos, DMo....or a bunch of them are talking together. They have passionate discussions in the huddle before they go back out on the floor. They really do look and play like a team.

Cute James moment...during a break in the game, when they were playing Bust A Move in the arena, I noticed James walking downcourt, singing to himself and nodding his head to the song...I think he also had a brief conversation with a fan on the sideline as the game got back underway too.

I am one who really likes Coach McHale, although I may not agree with everything he's done. I think he's learning too. I wish him well and I hope the Rockets end up winning it all with him at the helm. Granted, I wasn't watching him closely the whole game, but I never saw him (or any of the other coaches) be anything but supportive of the players during the game. Even when Greg Smith had committed that offensive foul (I think it was the third offensive foul in a row the Rockets had committed) when the Nets were coming back, Kevin stood and walked down the sideline, clapping and hollering "let's go" or something like that, not angry, but supportive, trying to keep the team's heads up. I tried to get a good picture of him pacing the sidelines but never did. That limp of his is painful to watch though.

I must admit, I came here for Jeremy. I never pretended otherwise. I will always be a Jeremy first fan, I think. There will always be a special connection. I never even went to a Knicks game last year but you didn't have to go to the Garden to be touched by the magic that was Linsanity. It really was that special. For those few weeks, the city was just different. There's not really a way to describe it. But, that said, I LOVE this team so much. I love all of the guys. I love all of the coaches. There is something so special about James too, just being in the same arena with him. Even before the game started, I just loved him so much. I don't get the people who try to peg him as a selfish player. He does not give off that vibe at all as far as I can see.

I miss Jeremy SO MUCH in NYC but I'm so happy that he is with the Rockets. It's a great situation for him and the Rockets as a team are just so much easier to root for than the Knicks. I just wish they came through NYC a few more times a year. Last night was so much fun.

Oh, one other observation...sitting so close, the court looked so small and the guys looked so big. Haha!

Sorry this got so long....Thanks to anyone who read to the end.

Videos I took....

Jeremy pre-game warmup (with a little bit of Carlos at the end)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7gYuJb06mOo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Start of game jumpball jumpline
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AZ0wuPl-NaE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pre-game 'handshake'
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jX25oOIyQ58?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And a link to the over 100 pictures I took....some of them aren't very good but some aren't bad....
http://cknypics.shutterfly.com/pictures/9#9