--For much of the year, the Nets had huge trouble scoring -- 18 games under 90 in their first 53 before the trade of Jason Kidd. Now with Devin Harris healthy and the Nets playing decidedly up-tempo, the point totals are up. Way up.
After Friday's loss in Indiana, the Nets have scored 100 points in seven of nine games. And in five of those games, they had at least 114. And that is significant. Prior to the recent streak, they achieved 114 points only twice this season. All of last year, they did it four times. And in the three seasons prior to last, they did it four times combined: twice in '03-04, none in '04-05 and twice in '05-06. --The Nets are confident but could be a tad antsy about the prospects for another trip to the playoffs, which would be their seventh straight. The Nets have started revving it up at home recently, but the road has been another story. They lost nine straight before winning in New York against the woeful Knicks and then losing in Indiana Friday. And of their final nine games, they must still play at Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland and Boston -- with home games against Phoenix, Philadelphia and Toronto still looming.
"There are a lot of explanations that will turn out to be a lot of excuses," said coach Lawrence Frank when asked about the road woes. "The bottom line is we have to play a whole lot better. Each game, there were different breakdowns on the offensive and defensive end."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm not going to lie: We were dead men walking with the Jason Kidd situation. Everybody knew it was time, that he needed a change, that he wanted a change and people made it seem it was only that way when he went public. That situation had been pretty much going on all season." -- F Richard Jefferson, admitting what was obvious all season, that the situation of G Jason Kidd wanting a trade hurt the team by taking the focus off basketball.
