Game time finally here for Brooklyn Nets

It can't arrive soon enough.

After nine days of practicing and banging heads against each other, the Nets are more than eager to see a uniform that doesn't have the word "Brooklyn" emblazoned on it. They'll get that opportunity Tuesday night.

Hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv at Barclays Center before they hop on a plane Wednesday and fly to China for two preseason games against the Kings nearly has them downright giddy. That's what spending the better part of two weeks in a grueling training camp with an old-school coach will do for you.

"More than anxious," Deron Williams said after practice Monday. "It's been a long camp because we are still kind of in camp right now. We haven't played a game and we are just going against each other every day. So it will be a good change to go against another team, have refs and be back in the Barclays arena. So I look forward to it."

Coach Lionel Hollins has been implementing his principles and installing the team's scheme as he works the players into shape. Seeing how they fare in practice is one thing, but there's only so much he can gather from scrimmaging because the players are all aware of what the other five on the floor are trying to do.

That's why the preseason games are so important to coaches, allowing them to better evaluate things, and Hollins is no different. He is enthused about the prospect of getting out of the practice gym for a spell and witnessing how things go down in a game setting.

"Well, of course," Hollins said. "The players are ready. I want to just see where we are in a real game. You know, won't be any stopping, they'll be playing, referees calling fouls. So I'm looking forward to it."

Kevin Garnett said the Nets' goal in their opener is simple: iron out some of those early kinks.

"Just working on things that we've been working on in camp," Garnett said, "and form some consistency now, a good rhythm, start to build. We're playing an overseas team. The journey begins [Tuesday night]."

It's the first of six preseason games for the Nets, who have a 14-hour flight to China on tap and don't play again until they meet Sacramento in Shanghai on Sunday. So with training camp in the rearview mirror, it's time to build on-court cohesion in game settings.

"I feel like we are coming together pretty well," Williams said. "We are getting things offensively and defensively. Of course, we are not where we need to be. But that's expected. It's early and these preseason games are meant to kind of give us a gauge for where we are, and [Tuesday night] will be a good test for us against a team that's going to play hard.

"I played in Europe and I know how these teams play. Maccabi is one of the premier teams in Europe every year, and so it should be a fun game."