Nets Settling Into Their Home Ninety minutes before the Nets said hello to Brooklyn, their coach leaned into a microphone, spoke three words and startled himself. Ooh, powerful mic! Coach Avery Johnson exclaimed Monday after hearing his words reverberate off the walls. My voice is already, I guess, distinct enough. Johnson, who speaks in a squeaky Louisiana drawl, chuckled. Add acoustics to the list of things the Nets have to adjust to in their new home. Their first night at Barclays Center was mostly a success. The Nets rolled over the Washington Wizards, 98-88, for their second preseason victory. The jubilant crowd of 14,219 roared at Andray Blatche's power dunks and broke into frequent choruses of "Brook-lyn" in the fourth quarter. Even the Wizards were impressed. "It's definitely going to be one of those grand stages," Martell Webster told The Washington Post. Trevor Ariza, who began his career with the Knicks, was even more effusive. Their floor is dope. The arena is dope. It's a cool place to play," Ariza told The Post. I think this city of Brooklyn is a proud city. They back anything that comes out of their city, they rep it, they love it with all their heart. Some observations from the preseason version of opening night: ¶Although 3,500 shy of a sellout, the attendance was the Nets' highest in five years for a preseason game. In fact, the Nets drew more Monday night than they did for 17 of their 33 regular-season games in Newark last season. Also instructive: That 14,219 figure is higher than the Nets' regular-season average for each of their last three seasons in New Jersey. They ranked last in the N.B.A. last season, averaging 13,961 in Newark. A sellout would surely have been ideal for the Nets' debut in a new city. But under the circumstances, they drew pretty well: It was a rainy Monday night. It was a preseason game. And the Wizards are among the worst draws in the league, at any time of year. The Nets' next home game, against Boston on Thursday, might be a better gauge. ¶The Nets have been raving about their "basketball campus" for a reason: It is huge, occupying a long corridor on the Atlantic Avenue side of the building. In addition to the locker room, the campus contains a huge player lounge, along with a weight room, training facilities, and whirlpools. ¶The Nets' locker room appears to be at least twice the size of their old locker room at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, and much larger than the one they occupied the last two years at Newark's Prudential Center. By N.B.A. standards, the Nets' locker room is probably about average - much larger than Boston's, but smaller than Miami's. There are no special touches - no televisions in the locker stalls, or customized bath robes and plush leather chairs - but each stall does have extra electrical outlets to charge mobile devices. The carpet is black, with the large "B" logo stamped in the center, in black and white. The logo is also embedded in the back of every player's chair. ¶The lockers are arranged in a u-shape, covering three walls. The Nets' stars are strategically separated - presumably to avoid a massive pile-up of television cameras and reporters after each game. Deron Williams has the first locker on the right hand side, closest to the locker-room entrance and the adjoining player lounge. Brook Lopez has the first locker on the left-hand side, across from Williams and closest to the bathroom. Joe Johnson is in the left-hand corner. The Nets' rookie point guard, Tyshawn Taylor, is on Williams' side of the room and wedged between two respected veterans, C.J. Watson and Keith Bogans. The two European rookies, Mirza Teletovic and Toko Shengelia, are side by side, between Watson and Josh Childress. Blatche, the new backup center, is on the same side of the room with Lopez and Kris Humphries. ¶The visitor's locker room, by contrast, seems designed for discomfort. It may be one of the smallest in the league. It is so small, in fact, that the Wizards crammed two padded tables in the middle of the room, just so the trainers could work on their players. It left little room to walk. ¶The Nets avoided any commuting issues for their players - most of whom live in New Jersey - by putting them up in a Brooklyn hotel. They will do the same for every home game. Players are required to report to the arena by 5:45 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. game. "This would have been one of those days where we would have given them a little bit of grace," Avery Johnson said. "There wouldn't have been a fine or suicides or anything like that," he added, referring to "suicide" sprints. I'm not the crazy guy that they've told you about. I do have a heart.