Hello all, it’s me the Cheap Seat Stiff back to give you an in-arena view of the latest Nuggets game. Okay I lied, I am not Jesse A. Schaffer, I am Jesse’s good friend since second grade and/or high school (depends on who you ask).

I have the great fortune to have recently moved to Brooklyn, New York so I decided to catch my old favorite basketball team in action and take over this column for Jesse. I’ve followed all his posts and I think I can replicate his voice. All I need is 1. Cheap seats and 2. To complain about someone starting the wave. Will I succeed? Let’s find out!

1. I acquired cheap seats from a CU alumni group in New York. The plan was to gather as a group, watch the game, and then we had the chance to meet Spencer Dinwiddie, he of the Brooklyn Nets and formerly a CU Buff. Unfortunately our tickets were scattered throughout the stadium and I wasn’t feeling well enough to stay to meet Spencer. So I made zero friends and missed out on meeting an NBA player. Oh well, at least I got the cheap seats!
2. Speaking of cheap seats, the upper level in the new Barclay’s Center has the same feel as the lower level. It’s dark (intentionally) and cool. But the upper level is definitely cramped as you walk around and the food selection was meager at best. I will say the visuals from my seat worked well, you don’t feel as (mile) high as you do at the Can. Overall a nice arena for basketball.
3. I specify basketball because Brooklyn should be a basketball mecca for the Nets. And hopefully it will be once Kyrie Irving and, more importantly, Kevin Durant come back from injury. The Nets do a great job evoking the feel of the city into their entertainment. Biggie Smalls, a Bed-Stuy native may he rest in peace, casts a large shadow over the arena. His music was remixed and featured in nearly every dance routine and more. The hype videos were filmed on the streets of Brooklyn and worked the neighborhoods in well. The Nets are almost secondary to the borough at these games and I loved it.
4. Okay back to the game! Before the game started I noticed two smallish guys in orange shoes hopping around and high-fiving/chest-bumping the players. They were wearing the Nuggets’ warm ups but I thought they were just paid to be hype men because they were way too over eager. It turns out it was Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley. I felt stupid but then I watched them during the game and I think I might be right in calling them glorified hype men. Which isn’t necessarily a bad role for them to play.
5. It was a frustrating first half, the Nuggets started by bricking their first four or five shots and nothing was falling. Soon the offense turned into, pass it to someone who is annoyed that their bad shots aren’t falling and let them take another bad shot. Just horrible offense all around. But then, by some miracle, Jamal Murray took a step back 3 as the half expired and the Nuggets had their first lead of the game. I, along with all the Nets fans, were confused how the Nuggets managed that.
6. Jesse will be pleased to know that I sat in the section that tried to start the wave! Jesse is a known wave (and fun) hater so he will be happier to know that the Brooklynites were not having it and the wave fizzled before it started (much like the Nuggets’ offense!).
7. At half time I walked around and noticed a good Nuggets crowd. I saw the new City jerseys with the black background, the yellow city jersey, a retro powder blue Chauncey (and it was the rare #7 version!) and even a bright orange Peyton Manning Broncos jersey. Always fun to be surrounded by my fellow Coloradoans in a foreign stadium.
8. Speaking of jerseys, the Nets fans had an eclectic collection. I saw a ton of red New Jersey Nets Vince Carter jerseys that stuck out like a sore thumb. There was even a Brooklyn Mason Plumlee jersey which reminded me that Mason Plumlee was a first round draft pick for the Nets. Unfortunately Plumlee’s homecoming was uneventful, save for a couple of blocks.
9. The Nets don’t have a mascot, at least not since The BrooklyKnight was retired in 2013. And I gotta say I sorely missed seeing a mascot of Rocky’s stature running around creating chaos. The Nets had some dudes running around in form fitting jerseys and shorts. They did backflips and stuff but mostly they would awkwardly cheer in the background of the in-stadium video bits. Rocky is a treasure and you should all appreciate his presence.
10. Going into the second half, I expected the Nuggets to pick up where Murray left off, with momentum and the lead. I thought they would cruise to a victory. But the Nets were pesky and managed to keep themselves in the game. They slowly wore down the Nuggets and capitalized on their lazy offense.
11. Jerami Grant seemed to be the only one playing his role on offense. His role being stand at the three-point line and be ready to catch and shoot. He managed 15 points on 7 attempts for a high performing day.
12. I feel like every time I watch Jokic play I end up texting Jesse, "how the hell does Jokic have 20 points?" And this game was no different. He’s had an off year thus far but he still manages to have sneaky good production every once in a while. And while he gets a lot of crap for not stepping up as a traditional superstar, I will say he willed his way to take the lead with 30 seconds left. He put the team on his back in that moment. Unfortunately Spencer Dinwiddie was doing the same thing on the other end.
13. Speaking of Dinwiddie. I cannot say enough good things about the guy. He won the game for the Nets and he is keeping them afloat in Kyrie and Durant’s absence. It will be fascinating to watch him play with those two guys. I could see him becoming the vital secret weapon on a championship team but I could also see him rise above that role and want more. Hopefully his development doesn’t get squashed when the team is back to full strength.
14. One more thing on Dinwiddie, after the game he was interviewed for the arena as the player of the game. He said he was playing hard because it was his brother’s birthday and he "wanted to give him a couple of buckets". And after that he met up with the CU alumni group, as I mentioned, and I only heard great things. It sounds like he is a great, respectful guy that you can’t help but love. It sucked we lost but losing to a CU guy like Dinwiddie makes it sting a little less.
15. One final thing, Kenyon Martin was in the house and they showed him on the (not so) jumbotron with a mention that Kmart was on the Nets NBA Finals teams in 2002 and 2003. They failed to mention his seven years with the visiting Nuggets. I get it, they don’t want to give positive attention to the visitors, but I think it would have been a cool thing to mention as he had a huge impact on both franchises.