Nets unsure what to expect crowd-wise at opener

With everything that’s going on in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy and the limited mass transit options, the Nets aren’t quite sure what to expect from their crowd in Saturday night’s home opener.

“Hopefully it’s a good atmosphere,” Deron Williams said.  “I’m still a little skeptical of what kind of crowd we are going to get because it’s still hard to get places. So we’ll see. Hopefully, it’s a good atmosphere. That’s what we want, but you never know.”

For Joe Johnson, Saturday’s tilt also represents his first official game as a Net. As one might expect, he’s anticipating taking the floor in the Nets’ home white uniforms and making his debut with his third NBA team after stints in Phoenix and Atlanta.

“Oh definitely,” Johnson said. “I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity for quite some time. Now, that it’s arrived, I’m sure we will all try to make the most of it and leave a great impression.”

It should be interesting, given Avery Johnson and his staff had to get the players to quickly switch gears and forget all their Knicks’ scouting reports, instead focusing on a Raptors team that Joe Johnson said is “unpredictable.”

“They’ve got a good point guard in Kyle Lowry,” Johnson said, “a good shooting guard in [DeMar] DeRozan and some pretty good hard working bigs. We understand we have our hands full. We don’t take anything for granted. We are going to approach this game tonight like any other game – well-prepared and coming out, doing whatever it takes to get a win.”