Scout's Take

On the Atlantic Division-leading Nets, who at week's end had gone 6-11 since the All-Star break:

"With Jason Kidd they're the best running team in the league at home, but for some reason they become more of a walk-it-up, half-court team on the road, which makes it harder for them to get easy baskets and open threes. And they're no longer surprising anybody with their Princeton offense—a lot of teams have stolen their sets, so you get to see them being used two or three nights a week. You'd think the return of Dikembe Mutombo [due back this month from a broken right wrist] would help, but they look like they're in no hurry to bring him back. He's going to restrict their offense: They like to put their big men on the high post, but they can't do that with him because he can't pass from there."