Kevin Garnett getting message across

The Nets don't have a captain but they have a leader.

It started after the Magic game. Andray Blatche quoted Kevin Garnett as saying, "We’ll be on the plane … we’ll have a conversation about it."  Garnett did just that, Blatche told Tom Bontemps.

"He was upset," Blatche said of KG "He was upset, all the way from the bus to the plane, he was really upset. … We just gave him his space so he can cool off. [Then] he said his piece and we all took it in."

What specifically did he say? "Nothing I'd like to share nor repeat," Garnett said when asked by beat writers.

Garnett didn't limit criticism to others.

"I've got to get better with what I'm doing, making my minutes more productive," said Garnett. "I don't really think about the offense. Defense is where I'm trying to make sure that we're cohesive."

Message delivered.  At the post-game press conference Tuesday, KG was full of praise and explained his outburst on Sunday and noted he wasn't alone.

"We’re trying to form something here," Garnett said. "I think Paul reiterated some of what I was talking about, and it’s just consistency. You can’t play a passionate game against Miami and then go out and play the way we did against Orlando.

"I was just letting them know that consistency is the difference between great teams and OK teams. … That was the message."

He also had strong words of praise for Brook Lopez, just as he had for Shaun Livingston a few days back.

"He’s very poised. He’s very strong," Garnett said of his frontcourt mate. "He’s a real chill person, but he has a fire. He’s never rattled. I’m not gonna say underestimated, but he’s very strong … to go through plays and finish them very well. Probably the best I’ve seen in the league in a while."

It's also about Brooklyn, he noted, without mentioning last season's mediocre home record..

"We have to protect our home," Garnett said Tuesday. "We’re trying to establish something here at home. … Any teams that we feel we’re better than, we should go out and beat.

"When they’re playing here in Brooklyn, they have to know they’re playing here in Brooklyn, and that’s what we’re trying to establish."

• Starting Five: KG high on Lopez - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Garnett talks about win over Jazz (Video) - YES Network
• Fuming Nets fueled by intense practice in blowout win - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Nets blast winless Jazz after Garnett tirade - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Nets’ Blatche: We’re in for a tough season - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Nets Work to Avoid a Soft Start to the Season - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
• Kevin Garnett Still Figuring Out Role in Limited Minutes With New-Look Brooklyn Nets - Ben Watanabe - NESN