In the 'Zzone

Looking for a change in results

All we know about tomorrow’s starting lineup is it will be different than the one the Nets used against the Grizzlies. Lawrence Frank wouldn’t say today whether he was leaning toward starting Vince Carter or not starting Carter.

You probably know by now that Malik Allen, Jason Collins and Richard Jefferson are starting with Jason Kidd and a mystery shooter: Antoine Wright or Carter.

It would seem like a no-brainer, but there are reasons Frank is going back and forth here. He swore to reporters several times he hasn’t decided who it will be.

Injury news and lineups

You could see it was going in this direction, but the Nets have shut down Nenad Krstic.

The big man didn’t practice today after going hard yesterday. It sounds like he won’t play in any games for about two weeks – if not more - unless there are some garbage time opportunities for him to run and up and down and get some shots up.

What a Croc

The Nets let the Grizzlies play their game last night.

Memphis ran, hoisted threes, dictated tempo and pulled out a 110-103 win at Izod Center that left some of the Nets’ better players a bit peeved and understandably so.

Jason Kidd was unhappy. So was Richard Jefferson.

Thinking about Offense

Toward the end of the Steelers' romp of the Dolphins last night, we turned to NBA TV to see how a couple of offensive-minded teams were doing.

The game was 15 minutes old and it was 50-40 Golden State over Phoenix. Sometimes the Nets don't have 50 by late in the third.

After Jeff Reed's winning field goal, we decided to watch the rest of the first half from Oakland, which ended with the Warriors up 72-63. The Nets haven't scored 70 in a game twice this season.

Holding on to the rope

The Nets didn't let go of the rope.

They had their chances - down 14 in the first half and 12 to open the third, after letting a 12-point lead disappear in about four minutes as the Lakers crowd went wild. But the Nets held on tightly and secured easily their best win of the season, a hard-fought 102-100 victory over the Lakers last night.

The Trip Ender

Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant were almost teammates in Los Angeles, were teammates on Team USA over the summer where they enjoyed many "what if" conversations and tonight they renew acquaintances in a game that has more significance for the Nets.

The Lakers are home and want to win to end their two-game losing streak. But the Nets have a chance to come home from this trip 3-1, which would be a great trek by any standards.

A Winning Trip

Keith Van Horn was a rookie, John Calipari was screaming - constantly screaming – and Jayson Williams was telling jokes the last time the Nets had at least a .500 Thanksgiving Week trip.

Until now.

It certainly didn’t appear the Nets were going to come home from the West Coast with a winning record after the way it started. It looked they would return with a losing record and a very unhappy captain.

The Holiday is over; History Awaits

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Mine was nice, thanks. The best part was watching my 14-month-old son eat more turkey than me.

But like our story a few days ago, it's back to basketball.

After a big win in Portland, maybe the most entertaining game the Nets played this year although the opener against Chicago had more of a playoff feel, your team has a chance to do something tonight it never has in the Jason Kidd era.

Welcome back Carter, Nets

It's one game, but there is reason to feel better today if you're a Net fan or things for which you can be thankful on Thanksgiving.

Vince Carter returned, didn't reinjure his ankle and he helped the Nets to the 106-101 win at Portland last night, snapping the six-game skid.

The offense looked much smoother with Carter than it has without him.

Jason Kidd, a few days after seemingly ripping his teammates and management, was engaged again. He did everything, include pull off a play, rarely seen, which is fake a timeout, catch the other team sleeping, and then go to the basket for a layup and the foul.

Richard Jefferson looked better, and don't think for a second that having Carter back didn't play a part.

Welcome to the 2007-08 season Bostjan Nachbar.

The Nets showed they can win a game on the offensive end. This was actually entertaining to watch.

Jason Collins drew the big charge late in the game. So for the Lawrence Frank bashers, he obviously made the right move by putting in Collins late.

All in all, the Nets looked like a team. They looked like they were tired of losing. Kidd looked like he wanted to make up for the Utah debacle and Nachbar looked like he wanted to atone for the first 11 games.

Is anyone reading this?

Back to basketball

At this point, enough has been said about the Jason Kidd outburst.

If you want to get some things off your chest go ahead. But we're going to try and go the rest of this blog without saying anything more about it than we've already said.