There will be no love lost when the Knicks and Nets meet up this season. The big brother/little brother rivalry still exists, even if “little brother” is stocked with accomplished veterans and past champions, while “big brother” is made up mostly of players still pining for the NBA’s ultimate prize.
One of those champions, Paul Pierce, was hardly a Knicks fan as a member of the Celtics, and now that he scheduled to take part in four intra-city battles between the Knicks and Nets this season, don’t expect to see him wearing orange and blue anytime soon.
“I think the hate [for the Knicks] has grown a little,” Pierce said in a radio interview on The Michael Kay Show on Thursday. “Everybody knows how much I disliked the Knicks when I was with the Celtics, but I think it’s grown to another level. I think it’s time for the Nets to start running this city.”
All four of the Nets-Knicks matchups this season are expected to be nationally televised, including their first meeting Dec. 5. Nobody will want to miss those showdowns, according to Pierce.
“The only thing that separates the two teams is a bridge,” Pierce later said at an appearance, according to ESPN New York. “And both of them are in the same division and both of them are considered contenders. You can’t help but say this is probably gonna be the best rivalry in sports next year.”
The “best rivalry in sports” may be taking it a little far, but after all the fireworks that accompanied the battles for New York at the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden last season, there is no doubt this year’s games will be even more entertaining.
