The Nets do not think of themselves as a bad team, but rather a team that just needs to get everything in order.

"I just can't wait until we get it to click," says Brook Lopez. "We can play great defensively -- and then have nine points in a third quarter. That's a game right there. You've got to keep working to get it all together."

Avery Johnson thinks the same way...or says he does.  "It's a dream right now. Hopefully, sometime we'll get four quality quarters. We're not there yet."  How do they get there? Practice, practice, practice. "Show tape, try to learn repetition. We know it's insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over," says Devin Harris.

And Sasha Vujacic, who knows something about winning, is mystified about what happened Saturday in Minneapolis.  "Why? We don't know. But definitely we've shown we can play."  Maybe Kevin Love can help.  He says Kurt Rambis lit into the Timberwolves at halftime.  "If I had $100 for every four-letter word he said, I would be a rich man," Love said of Rambis.

• Reality rough concept for sputtering Nets - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• With Carmelo Anthony back in Denver's lineup, Nets continue to pursue trade options - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
• Kurt Rambis' halftime rant gets results as Timberwolves rally to beat Nets - Ray Richardson - St. Paul Pioneer-Press