O CANADA: Long Island Nets to play six games in Montreal this season
The Nets begin their ninth season at Nassau Coliseum starting in November, but six of their home games will be played at Place Bell in suburban Montreal. Montreal Nets!?! Buried in the Long Island Nets press release on next season’s schedule is a note that Long Island will play six home games at Place Bell in suburban Montreal, two each in January, February and March.
The release did not provided details on reason why the games won’t be held at Nassau Coliseum, saying only “updates will be released at a later date.” NetsDaily has been told in fact that the update will be released Wednesday. One strong possibility: the Nets, with their aggressive international marketing campaign, will use the trips to extend the team’s brand to Montreal, just as they did in Paris last season with the NBA Paris Game with Brooklyn-flavored events.
Jack Maloney of CBS Sports suggested Wednesday that the NBA may be gauging interest in Montreal as a potential expansion site.
The NBA could also use this opportunity to further gauge fan interest in professional basketball in Montreal. Last November, commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that the city has shown interest in an expansion franchise.
“That’s become a great basketball market,” Silver said of Canada. “I will say the Toronto Raptors have done a good job … of making themselves Canada’s team. I know there’s interest from Montreal. There’s still ongoing interest in Vancouver.
“It began so much as a hockey market when we first expanded there. Young people love basketball now.”
This summer, the Brooklyn Nets new head coach, guided the Canadian national team in the Paris Olympics.
Place Bell, located in suburban Laval, has a capacity of 10,000 for hockey and is the home of the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League, an affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadian games will take place January 24 and 26 when Long Island will play the Raptors 905, the Toronto Raptors affiliate, as well as February 5 vs. the Greensboro Swarm and February 8 vs. the Delaware Blue Coats, then a back-to-back vs. the Memphis Hustle on March 13 and 14.
Whether playing in suburban New York or suburban Montreal, Long Island could be an interesting team once we know who’s going to be playing out at the Nassau Coliseum starting in November.
You could see Yongxi “Jacky” Cui who’s reportedly close to a two-way deal with the Brooklyn Nets ... and an entourage of Chinese media. Depending on how his training camp goes and what his future plans are, former lottery pick Killian Hayes could also be on the court in Uniondale. Jaylen Martin, the 20-year-old two-way who’s played for both Long Island and Westchester Knicks last season, is expected back as well. And with 13 players 23 and under on the big club’s roster, we could be seeing a number of development projects out east as well.
It all starts Friday, November 8, at 7:00 p.m. ET when the Long Island Nets host the Maine Celtics in the team’s home opener which will honor the Town of North Hempstead. The Celtics beat the Nets, 99-77, in the G League playoffs, a game the Nets were without Noah Clowney who started that night in Brooklyn and had three players lost to injury.
The NBA G League schedule includes two parts – a 16-game Tip-Off Tournament and a 34-game regular season. The Tip-Off Tournament features all 31 NBA G League teams, affilaites of all 30 teams plus the Mexico City Capitanes and will culminate at the NBA G League Winter Showcase. NBA G League team records will then reset and starting Monday, December 30, each team will play a 34-game regular season for a total of 50 games during the 2024-25 season.
Long Island will play 18 home games at Nassau Coliseum this year, including one contest in the morning and eight games that will be played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, plus the six at Place Bell.
Nassau, once a jewel of Long Island, has been hurt by the proliferation of arenas in the metropolitan area, particularly the 2021 opening of UBS Arena in Belmont where the New York Islanders now play. The Isles, of course, won four straight NHL titles at the Coliseum,
The Nets affiliate, in fact, is the last continuing attraction at the arena and there have been no concerts scheduled there in nearly two years. Mikhail Prokhorov who financed a $180 million renovation of the arena a decade ago, abandoned it during COVID. Most recently, the Adelman family that runs the Sands Hotel and Casino company, has pushed for a casino at the 77-acre site surrounding the arena. While Nassau County approved the transfer of the arena to the Sands, the New York State Gaming Commission has yet to make a decision on where a downstate casino will be located. Will this be the Nets last season in Uniondale?
As for the rest of the schedule, Long Island will have four back-to-backs this season. Their three longest homestands of the season will span four games each with the first beginning Wednesday, December 4, vs Delaware Blue Coats, and concluding on Wednesday, December 11, vs Maine, the second spanning from Wednesday, January 22, versus the Windy City Bulls and ending Wednesday, January 29, versus Greensboro Swarm and the third beginning Monday, February 3, versus Birmingham Squadron and concluding Tuesday, February 11, versus Windy City.
The schedule also includes 24 road contests and two games that Long Island will play as part of the annual NBA G League Winter Showcase in December. The team’s two longest road trips will span six games each, with the first beginning Saturday, November 16, at Capital City and ending Saturday, November 30, at Greensboro. The second will begin on Tuesday, February 25, at Westchester and conclude on Tuesday, March 11, at Westchester.
All of Long Island’s home games will be featured regionally on WRHU Radio Hofstra University 88.7 FM, and a full broadcast schedule will be released by the NBA G League at a later date.
Tickets for all Long Island Nets home games at Nassau Coliseum are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. To learn more about ticket membership options or group experience packages, contact [email protected] or call 934.948.2546.
The full Long Island Nets 2024-25 schedule can be found at longislandnets.com.
What to make of the Brooklyn Nets’ G League team playing six games in Montreal this season - Jack Maloney - CBS Sports
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