Net's, not intimidating.

[JB <jimmetz@xxxxxxx>]

	Maybe I'm looking askance, but I'm not sure that the Nets are really 
the force in the East that the press and most observers have made them 
out to be.
	the moves they made in the off season, so promising, in October, have 
not panned out all that well. Chris Childs is out of the picture, at a 
"fat farm," Rodney Rogers has contributed little, once the regular 
season started and is rumored to be out of shape and Mutombo is  very 
old and showing more than early stages of atrophy. Meanwhile, Keith Van 
Horne  has given the Sixers all that they wanted and more. Not only is 
he scoring, he's rebounding, threatening Walker's  starting all star 
spot at power forward. Tod MacCullouch isn't an all-star, but at this 
point, like Baker/Blount comparisons (sad but true), he's probably out 
producing Dikembe.
	Yes, there is Jason Kidd, who has Martin and Jefferson to run the 
wings, but at this point in the season, I think that the Nets are not 
as versatile, or just plain dominating, as they were when we last saw 
them.
	This game on Wednesday, of which I would  not have thought we had a 
chance to win, a few weeks ago, I now am feeling very optimistic.
	Pierce is back on track with his scoring and while he has seen a few 
games of heavy turnovers, he's hopefully  digesting a few doses of 
O'Brien pie, with the "pass more" filling. Antoine has overcome his 
early season woes and is playing better than at any time in his career. 
Delk and S.Williams, had one bad game against Milwaukee, but night in 
and night out, they have given us much more  scoring than last years 
team had, off of the captains. E.Williams and Battie are rebounding 
with more vigor  and day by day, game by game, we are  seeing more 
effort and contribution from Baker. What ever little it is, the post 
offense, is something this team has never had.
	So, which team has improved and which team is stagnant or less potent? 
We'll find out on Wednesday, but if they're giving points, I'll take 
them. This would be a huge win for the Celtics and I don't think they 
will back down a  bit. One of these days, all of the pieces will come 
together and we'll see what's what. It could  be this week. There are 
signs!
		JB

	Unchain My Heart !