In the 'Zzone

Sweet Music

That was an amazing performance by Devin Harris and the Nets, who are 8-7 now.

Let that soak in for a second. They're 8-7 and have a shot at being 9-7 and enjoying a 3-1 trip for the second year in a row.

Who among you thought it was possible? Be honest.  But it is after the Nets crushed Utah 105-88 in such impressive fashion.

Harris is playing like an All-Star. So is Vince Carter, who deserves so much credit for the Nets' early success, along with coach Lawrence Frank. He's pushing the right buttons and has everyone believe in him and his system.

Remember what he said at the end of last season - that he didn't get his team to buy into his system. Not this year. They're playing well and playing hard and you see the results.

Harris was phenomenal as he outplayed Deron Williams and finished with 34 points on 17 shots and 13 foul shots. Carter was great. Jarvis Hayes continues to be a steal and big-time player off the bench and Ryan Anderson's hustle and tenacity helped take the ight out of the Jazz's sails and the crowd out of the game. Normally, that's what happens to the Nets in the third period.

Not on this night. Maybe not anymore.

There's still plenty of season to be played, but you have to like what you've seen thus far and on this trip. Tonight the Nets will try to end a 14-game skid in Phoenix and come home on a major high. Who among you thought eight or even nine wins in November were possible? Be honest.

Light-Night Drama

My guess is that some of you were screaming at your TVs, punching couch cushions, throwing pillows, freaking out when Vince Carter clutched his hamstring, cursing when Devin Harris missed those two threes in the fourth and basically just getting all upset because of what you were seeing.

And then you went to your computers and typed on a message board somewhere what an amazing win this was, how great Harris is, how great Brook Lopez is and how clutch Keyon Dooling is and how relieved you were that Carter only suffered a cramp.

Bad L.A. Story

The best move of the night came in the fourth quarter when the game was already over.

Devin Harris fell out of bounds into two cheerleaders. He made sure both were all right and then he sat there with them for a few moments, wearing a big smile on his face.

Harris probably didn’t want to get up. It was a great move and a light moment in what was otherwise an awful night for the Nets, an awful second half rather.

The Trip

This is one of the Nets’ toughest November trips that I can remember. The upshot is when they go out to the West Coast again in March they’ll have an easier schedule – Golden State, Portland, Clippers, Nuggets.

So view this week as a good chance for the Nets to really see where they are, where they’re going and on what they can improve.

If they beat the Lakers, they’re not the best team in the league and if they lose to the Kings, they’re not the worst. Although, I’ll probably write if Sacramento wins that it was an unacceptable loss. But anyway.

Frank Fired Up

The Nets, most of them anyway, seemed in good spirits during and after practice. But not everyone was in a good mood as the team left for Los Angeles and their annual Thanksgiving Week trip. The coach is unhappy.

Not with his team but with what happened to Eddie Jordan today.

Vinsanity Rules

Give me your perspective since I don't get to enjoy the game the way a fan does since I'm writing for much of the second half and overtime.

How great was Nets 129, Raptors 127? Where does it rank compared to some in recent memory?

It was tough to write since we have to send a couple of minutes after the buzzer sounds and this one came down to the very end with so many twists and turns. But I did enjoy the game. I thought it was a great game with some pretty amazing performances.

The Knicks' Deal

It was quite a day for the Knicks.

They did exactly what they set out to do and cleared more than $25 million for 2010 by sending Jamal Crawford to the Warriors for Al Harrington and Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to the Clippers for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley... Andthey're not done.

They still have to move Eddy Curry and do something with Stephon Marbury, although that shouldn't affect 2010.

I know. This is a Nets' blog. Who cares? But this affects the Nets. They want LeBron James. They play in the Atlantic Division/East and they play the Clippers next.

The Road Ahead

The Nets have a shot to leave for the West Coast trip at .500 and that’s their goal. But I think 5-7 is realistic and something they should reach.

Think about some of the e-mails and comments some of you sent me and no doubt wrote elsewhere: the Nets would be lucky to come out of November 4-12 or 3-13. I’m saying 7-9 is possible, but 6-10 more realistic.

Is it good? Absolutely not, but their early season schedule was much more difficult than last year’s and the year before and the year before – when they had “more talent.” And where were the Nets each time they headed West in November: 4-6 last year (with Carter out the last four); 5-4 the year before after Portland destroyed them in the getaway game, and 5-4 the year before that.

Another Big Hurt

Let's start with the injuries since they're always so uplifting.

Yi Jianlian strained his neck during practice and left to get x-rays. We didn't see the play or Yi. We should know more tomorrow, but here's how Lawrence Frank described it: "He kind of jolted back. I must have been some sort of hit, and his head [went back]. It wasn’t anything glaring."

Young Guns

LeBron James is here and the Nets are on a mini-winning streak so the most cameras of the season were at the team’s shootaround this morning. And the young guys were the flavors of the day.

While Brook Lopez talked about how there is a wow factor to playing against LeBron, Ryan Anderson, the NBA's top three-point shooter, was talking about how some friends from his past helped him become the shooter he is and how easy Vince Carter and Devin Harris make it for him to get shots.