What's the scoop on the Nets?

Rufus on Fire: Uh, so what the heck is going on? Has there been some kind of disconnect between the team Jason Kidd wants the Nets to be and the capabilities of the roster he has?

Dennis Velasco, NetsDaily: That's what I want to know! If I knew what the heck was going on, I'd send out a tweet mentioning Jason Kidd and Billy King and telling them - hey, get/stay healthy, build chemistry and Ponce De Leon is still alive and will totally give you the location of the Fountain of Youth for courtside seats at Barclays Center. Next to Jay-Z, even! Seriously, it's been a very disappointing time for the citizens of Nets Nation, but as I sarcastically mentioned, the team isn't healthy and hasn't been basically all season. And if players such as Andrei Kirilenko, Deron Williams and, most importantly, Brook Lopez aren't playing together, it just takes that much longer to build that necessary chemistry. D-Will didn't play any of the preseason and he's arguably the player that will dictate the Nets' success. Then he misses games because of a nagging ankle injury.

As far as the type of team that Kidd wants... I'm not sure he knows definitively. Other than moving the ball, which sometimes doesn't happen because going iso is just so hard to do, I'm not really sure what Kidd's philosophy is. One thing I hate right now is Andray Blatche shooting long twos. At one point earlier, Kidd said that Blatche needs to work on shooting beyond the three-point line because of showed interest. ... I was incredulous when I read that. No, Blatche should face up his man, sure, but then use his dribbling ability to drive past his man, not step back and take a shot further away from the basket. Shooting treys is not how Blatche truly succeeds. In any case, it's just a mish-mosh right now.

RoF: How concerned are people about Kevin Garnett? Every year people write eulogies for him so I can't bury him just yet, but 32.6 percent on field goals is, for lack of a better word. bad.

ND: I would never bet against the man unless the logistics of a bet was "Don't be intense." Garnett loses that one every single time. Watching him shoot the ball from around the elbows, I actually cringe now. In years past, I'd just be angry because his shot would fall in and it was like a rain of jumpers snapping twine. Now, I just yell "Nooooo" at my television screen. It's like I can actually see his legs just saying, "Nah." There seems to be some lift missing from his jumper and I don't mean an arch because that's still there, but you can see the bad lift from his legs. Could the old man actually be playing like one? I don't know, but like I said, I'm not going to bet against him because he has way too much pride to not work harder to fix what needs to be fixed. But, how concerned are people? The Nets die-hard fans are calling for Reggie Evans to start at the 4!!! Okay, it's not that desperate, but we're all waiting for KG to at least be what he was last season in regards to stats. In regards to forcing his will on his teammates and himself, that would be nice too.

RoF: How much are y'all enjoying Shaun Livingston? He was here for a season a couple years ago and his recovery was great to see.

ND: Every single Nets fan loves S-Dot. Unfortunately, he only signed a one-year deal and if his production thus far is any indication of how he'll play for the rest of the season, well, some other team is going to scoop him up and sign him to a multi-year deal. Could he and the Nets agree to a contract that's mutually beneficial? No. Livingston is going to get more offers of more money and he deserves it. Man, I can't believe I'm already mulling his departure... that would be a sad day. STAY S-DOT!!!

RoF: What's the general feeling about the team at this point? Are people panicking or do people think they'll start to click eventually and turn things around in time to launch a campaign to get a good seed for the playoffs with the roster they have?

ND: The feeling is one of extremes - you either want to fire everyone and start over again OR you preach patience, which only gets drowned out by the aforementioned group of people. I'm of the latter group because when you acquire a new group of players, as well as a new head coach and coaching staff (although, everyone remembers Lawrence Frank's previous run with the franchise) it takes time. I mean, that makes sense, right? Oh wait, I forgot that we're in New York, a city known for the need of instant gratification, believing the hype and turning against the hype machine when things don't go as expected and one of ridiculously high expectation.

There are too many veterans and winners of an NBA championship, as well as NBA All-Star level talent in several spots for this not to turn around. They'll make the playoffs and homecourt will be a goal. However, things do actually go right for the Nets, the seed won't matter because the cream has risen to the top and the pieces prove to fit so well together.