Brooklyn Nets: Barclays Center regaining a special feel

After some lean times, the Brooklyn Nets are bringing the buzz back to Barclays Center with 8 wins in their last 9 at home arena.

When the Nets made the announcement that they would be making the move from New Jersey to Brooklyn, there was an unprecedented buzz around the country. Brooklyn was becoming the hottest borough in the city, and the addition of the Brooklyn Nets only added fuel to this fire.

With Jay-Z a part of ownership, along with a brand new Barclays Center; the result was electric. The buzz around the Nets organization gave life to a brand new team and arena. This energy ran through the Nets home games, giving the Barclays Center a special feel.

This feeling led to three consecutive playoff runs, including an Eastern Conference semifinals appearance where the Nets fell short to the Miami Heat after upsetting the Toronto Raptors on the road in a first-round Game 7.

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After the 2015 early playoff exit, it felt as if that energy completely left the organization and the Nets’ home games. As the team fell to last place in the NBA, fans started to attend games for opponents instead of the Nets.

Barclays had lost all of that buzz and energy it had soon after the move. The team went from electric to drowsy when the Nets’ front office fell flat on its face; sending four first-round picks to the Boston Celtics to get Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.

Neither KG nor Paul Pierce made it two full seasons in the black and white and Terry was gone in less than one.

Today it feels as if that lost energy might be making its way back through the doors of the Barclays. As the Nets currently hold a playoff spot, in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, there is an optimism surrounding the team that I have not seen since the move to Brooklyn.

Both coach Kenny Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks have put together a team that is making noise throughout the league while putting up massive offensive numbers. Sports Illustrated went as far to say that, “The Nets are one of the most exciting teams in the NBA.”

The Nets have undoubtedly not received this kind of praise from the media since the playoff run in 2014.

There is no doubt throughout the Nets community that this is the excitement we have been waiting so long for, and that this has the feel to be a special season in Brooklyn. Fans are much more informed this year and you can tell in the Barclays Center.

The buzz is back around the Nets and we certainly cannot wait for the rest of the season to unfold.