Now that Dwight Howard is in Hollywood about to become the next Michael Clarke Duncan — any movie producers need a muscle-bound giant for a bit part? — it’s been accepted without argument that Philly’s Andrew Bynum is the best center in the East. But Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. When the Brooklyn Nets made their post-relocation debut Saturday night in Atlantic City, Lopez led the way with 19 points, nine boards and three blocks in a win over the Sixers. Bynum (knee) sat this one out, leaving Lopez to match up with guys like Kwame Brown and Arnett Moultrie, but he proved his point: Don’t sleep on the Big Comic Book Dork … Deron Williams had 14 points and six dimes, while Joe Johnson chipped in 13 points. They offered nothing to prove or disprove the argument that Brooklyn has best backcourt in the league … So now that you’ve seen them in action, how do you feel about the Nets’ uniforms? They’re simple, but that’s all they need to be. As long as they’re black and they say “Brooklyn,” the merchandise is gonna sell like crazy … Miami lost Part II of their China tour against the Clippers, but we’re guessing they don’t really care. Dwyane Wade had a quick seven points in eight minutes, LeBron and Chris Bosh each had 11 points in 20 minutes apiece, and most importantly, nobody got hurt. DeAndre Jordan led L.A. with 18 points and nine rebounds and he still can’t shoot free throws … Would you be really shocked if the Knicks have a better record than the Celtics this year? And would you be shocked if they then took that record and got swept in the first round of the playoffs? New York won last night’s meaningless matchup with the Celtics in overtime, as Carmelo Anthony scored 23 and some guy named Chris Copeland added 21 for the Knicks … There’s something about the way he moves on the court that has Jeff Green reminding us of Antoine Walker. Of course, Green wearing No. 8 and rocking black shoes with white socks doesn’t hurt that comparison, either. Green announced his comeback with a Blake Griffin-ish dunk on NY where he threw the ball in the hoop more than dunked it … Bad sign if you’re a Fab Melo fan: He played three minutes. If he’s having a hard time justifying PT in the preseason, even on a deep team like the Celtics, it could be a long year for the rookie … Tristan Thompson put up 18 points, 10 boards and four blocks in Cleveland’s loss to Washington. Thanks to Kyrie Irving being firmly in place as the future of the Cavs franchise, and the disputed selection of Dion Waiters this year, Thompson is already a forgotten man in Cleveland and the least-pressured No. 4 pick in recent memory. While everyone is waiting to see if Kyrie becomes a star and if Waiters becomes a bust, Thompson has room to grow outside the spotlight. In a way, he’s already gone from crucial franchise building block to icing on the cake … Brian Cook wins the “That dude is still in the league?” award for Saturday night. Cook scored 14 off the bench for the Wizards. He’s the Black Scalabrine without the entertainment factor … … Read on to hear about the Wolves’ newest cult hero …
With Kevin Love sitting out, Nikola Pekovic was free to roam the paint by himself and terrorize the Bulls to the tune of 16 points and 17 rebounds. But Pek’s most memorable moment was when he got his wires crossed and his ankles broken on a simple left-hand drive by Joakim Noah … Brandon Roy started and scored 13, but the real show-stealer was Minnesota’s Alexey Shved, who dropped 15 off the bench. Between how he scores and how he looks, he’s like a cross between Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash and Adrian Brody … The Pistons have like 39 guys on their training camp roster, but apparently none of them can play defense, as the Bucks lit Detroit up for 108 points last night. Ersan Ilyasova led six Bucks in double figures with 22 points, but like Pekovick, his big night was overshadowed by one play where he ended up on the wrong end of a highlight. Ilyasova found himself under the basket when Andre Drummond (19 pts, 10 rebs) came flying through and almost hurdled him on the way to a vicious dunk … The Lakers almost rolled out the lineup everybody wants to see: Steve Nash, Kobe, World Peace and Pau Gasol started against Utah. And in the place of Dwight Howard, rookie Robert Sacre got the start at center. That’s like going to a YMCMB concert and having Lil Chuckee stand in for all of Drake‘s parts. It’s still a good show, but there’s clearly something missing. Kobe scored 18 and Nash had five dimes, but the Jazz won behind Enes Kanter‘s 14 points and 14 boards. That’s two straight double-doubles for the second-year pro. People kind of forgot about Kanter since he sat out his only year at Kentucky, but he was the No. 3 pick in the draft for a reason. He’s got some skills and could have a big year ahead of him … Training camp is a time when we get to read all kinds of silly little stories that NBA beat writers crank out because practice is boring — like the one we saw this week about Kevin Garnett giving the Celtics’ rookies nicknames. We’ll spare you the details, but the most creative nickname KG doled out was calling Syracuse product Kris Joseph “Shawn.” Why, you ask? Because Joseph reminds KG of somebody named Shawn. Are we sure Garnett is giving out nicknames, or is he just like every other guy who can’t remember the names of insignificant co-workers? … We’re out like the New Jersey Nets …
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