P.J. Carlesimo: Need to tweek rotation, focus on offense

In interviews with Mike Francesca and Michael Kay, P.J. Carlesimo said that while he is "not changing much" from Avery Johnson's playbook, there are a number things that he and the coaching staff plan to do to improve the Nets offense, specifically some changes to the rotation, including getting a sense of when to substitute for the team's three offensive threats, Deron Wiliams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez.

"It's a good problem but it's going to take us a little while," Carlesimo told Francesa. He noted the team will have a couple of practices next week to focus on things. "We're still trying to figure out rotations ... not sure how to break it up ... looking at a lot of different combinations."

"We're still a work in progress," he told Kay later Wednesday. "We got three options we're trying to figure out" how best to use them.

While Carlesimo said the Nets couldn't play much better than they did last night, the win over the Thunder in OKC showed what the team is capable of. He emphasized to Francesa that the Nets can go a lot bigger if they want because they have four solid bigs in Lopez, Kris Humphries, Andray Blatche (who Francesa pronounced "BLAY-ch") and Reggie Evans. In somewhat of a surprise, the Nets coach also volunteered to Francesa that he hopes to work Mirza Teletovic into the mix.

"We still have to get him going him," said Carlesimo of the player his predecessor had given up on. "We need to establish his three point shooting."

Beyond that, Carlesimo said he is not worried about sub-par numbers from Williams and Johnson, telling both that he thinks there has been an "over analysis." He admitted to Francesa that while Williams is "beat right now," his game will come around as they stretch his minutes. He told Kay, "If we are sort this thing out and get the offensive the way it should be, I think his (Williams) numbers will come. but he is happy distributing the ball. he really is."

As for Mikhail Prokhorov, Carlesimo called him "the perfect NBA owner" despite his quick trigger with Johnson. He said he "knows the game well," and is not into "day to day meddling" while at the same time wanting to win and backing up that desire with resources. He noted that he had a good meeting with Prokhorov, Billy King and Dmitry Razumov, Prokhorov's No. 2, about the team last week. Bottom line, he said, is that he is in a "no-excuse situation."

He called the firing of Johnson "terrible" and "horrible," telling Kay, "I was not optimistic that I would get another chance to be a head coach in the league but I felt if it did happen, it would be because we had a lot of success in Brooklyn."

And if Prokhorov has his mind set on Jackson, Carlesimo told Kay, "None of that is anything I can control," explaining, "If they had given me a five year contract the day I took over, I don't think i would be coaching any differently...honestly."

• Mike speaks with P.J. Carlesimo (Video) - Mike Francesa - WFAN/YES
• P.J. Carlesimo: 1/3 (Audio) - Michael Kay - ESPN - New York