--G Chris Douglas-Roberts may turn out to be, with a lot of work, the third point guard the Nets seek. Douglas-Roberts has played two straight games and on Monday, handled the point duties when the Nets made a belated charge in the fourth quarter from 30 points down, getting as close as seven. The rookie says he doesn't care where, he just wants to play. "All the coaches tell me, that the more versatile you are, the better you are," he said. "So I get a lot of reps in at the point." Douglas-Roberts scored eight points in eight minutes Monday.

--G Vince Carter turned 32 Monday and admitted it is strange being one of the real veterans on the team, like the vets Kevin Willis and Charles Oakley he saw as a rookie in Toronto. "I remember those guys. I thought I wouldn't even be around at that age," Carter said. Carter hardly celebrated his birthday: he shot 2-of-12.

--C Brook Lopez, back on draft night, thought he was going to the Thunder. They had worked him out several times. But the Thunder went small and ended up with Russell Westbrook and the Nets happily grabbed Lopez at 10. In two games against the Thunder, Lopez has had 49 points and 20 rebounds.