Knicks-Nets rivalry is gone

The New Jersey Nets were a very good team for a few years.

The New York Knicks haven’t been a very good team in quite a while.

Although the two teams are in different states, the drive separating the two teams is just 15  minutes. Maybe 30 or even 40 minutes if it’s rush-hour.

But the two squads have gone through such big roster changes lately, the players on the two sides have barely battled on the court against each other while wearing their current uniforms.  The Bergen Record (Al Iannazzone) reports (via blog):

There is no animosity anymore. Vince Carter doesn’t dislike anyone. Tim Thomas might be the only Knick who doesn’t like the Nets and that’s because they traded him on draft day and hurt him in the 2004 playoffs. But both are eon’s ago. This could be the start of a rivalry – maybe. Both have young teams and both have cap money in 2010 when both will be competing for the same players. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Nets still have the best player in the rivalry (Carter), and as well as Knicks point Chris Duhon is playing, he’s not the best point guard in the area. He’s not even the best one on his team, Marbury is. The best in the area still belongs to the Nets. Harris is playing like an All-Star and has helped the Nets to nine wins in their last 12 games.

It’s hard to predict that the team teams will develop anything resembling a real rivalry anytime soon, because there’s no telling who will be on either team’s roster in the next season or so.

It is nice that, win or lose, both teams are much better to watch now than they were just a season ago.