David Aldridge tries his hand at the reasons behind Brooklyn Nets resurgence

They're 5-1 over the last two weeks and become a defensive stalwart in the NBA.  Who knew?  After looking awful, particularly on defense, after "re-assigning" their defensive coach, the Nets have given their fans hope by beating four teams with winning records, three of them among the best teams in either conference.

David Aldridge tries his hand at it, suggesting that you can't ignore a surprising aspect of the resurgence: call it the  Kevin Garnett effect ... "In the five games that Garnett has primarily played center since Lopez's injury, the Nets have allowed 90.8 points per game and held their five opponents to 42.7 percent shooting."

Shaun Livingston said of the 37-year-old Garnett, "He's our anchor, he's vocal. I think Boston made a run in 2010 when he was there. It was almost like he had a resurgence. And it could also be Paul at the four. It's a little bit of a mismatch, and we're able to switch a little bit."

That's not all of it, of course. Aldridge notes that the Nets' vaunted depth is finally starting to show, particularly in the form of Andrei Kirilenko. and he gives credit to Kidd's "simplifying" things.

"I think Jason has simplified some things," Garnett said, "through the help of communicating with one another, understanding those schemes and understanding what he wants in there, I think is helping us. And then going over it, repetition, repetition..."

• Nobody asked me, but... - David Aldridge - NBA.com