3 things to watch for in Brooklyn Nets preseason finale

The Brooklyn Nets wrap up the preseason on Wednesday night. Philadelphia will make the trip to the Nassau Coliseum to take on the Nets. Here are 3 things to watch for in the last exhibition game on the schedule.

1. Who will make the team?

The final preseason game will be the final tune-up before the Brooklyn Nets open up the season next week in Indiana. So far, the Nets have looked stellar in the preseason.

Kenny Atkinson seems to have settled in with his starting five. D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin will serve as the backcourt. Timofey Mozgov will man the center spot. DeMarre Carroll and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will occupy the other two frontcourt spots.

Beyond that, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Sean Kilpatrick, Allen Crabbe, Caris LeVert, Quincy Acy and Trevor Booker all plan to see regular minutes. Rookie Jarrett Allen has impressed and should see time in the rotation.

Beyond that though, Atkinson and Sean Marks may need to make some decisions regarding the final two roster spots. Isaiah Whitehead, who started much of last year due to injuries to Lin, may find himself out of the rotation. Worse yet, he may lose his job entirely.

Atkinson said before the preseason began he’d be competing for his job. Did he perform well enough to save it?

Tyler Zeller seems safe because of the Nets’ dearth of bigs. Who knows if the Nets may opt for more versatility, though.

2. Thwart the “Process”

The Philadelphia 76ers will finally have their $148 million man Joel Embiid. After missing every game this preseason and having his 2016-17 season cut short to 31 games, Embiid will be a steady presence for Philadelphia from here on out.

Alongside him will be rookies Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. The trio figures to be an integral part of the future in Philadelphia.

Tonight, though, they are Brooklyn’s problem. The Nets need to find a way to slow down the hyper-talented trio if they plan on sending the Long Island crowd home happy.

3. Christening the Coliseum

Speaking of the Long Island crowd, they will be treated to Brooklyn Nets basketball. This isn’t the first time a preseason game has taken place in Uniondale but it is the first time an NBA game will be played at the new Coliseum.

That is fitting. The interior of the new Coliseum is a dead ringer for the Barclays Center. The Long Island Nets will be moving in there in a few weeks. Their preseason opener is against the Westchester Knicks on October 29th.

This will be a nice warmup for the Long Island portion of the Nets’ fanbase.