NEW YORK — Even before the Nets’ first superstar got injured and their second superstar forced a trade, home games in Barclays Center were a civic embarrassment. Rowdy local teenagers rained M-V-P chants on Steph Curry in November; a half-full arena worshipped LeBron James’ every move when the Lakers visited in January. As a resident of one of the neighborhoods surrounding the Barclays Center, I can attest that, in an area largely bereft of conspicuous basketball fandom, whatever faint NBA team spirit does exist around these parts comes in the form of Julius Randle or LeBron jerseys.
And it only got worse from there.
Kevin Durant got hurt and James Harden forced his way out of town, and home games went from cringeworthy to noncompetitive disgrace. The Raptors cruised to a 36-point blowout at Barclays on Monday night, barely raising eyebrows because getting torched by the likes of Scottie Barnes is a regular occurrence in Brooklyn now. The loss dropped the Nets to 13-17 at home. Without the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to shoulder any of the load, they’ve won a single home game in the last six weeks.
