#Nets Defining Themselves Under P.J. Carlesimo

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Updated: January 22, 2013

The Brooklyn Nets are an eye-popping 11-2 under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo and continue to win and set themselves up for a nice seed in the playoffs. The Nets were seven games back of the New York Knicks when Mikhail Prokhorov made a coaching change and gave the reigns to Carlesimo and they haven’t looked back.

The win yesterday at the Garden 88-85 was another step in the Nets quest to change their perception in the NBA and also in New York.   Carlesimo has been the impetus behind the resurgence and he hopes to just keep the ball moving forward.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

“We have a basket of talent,” Prokhorov said just more than three weeks ago. “And they are capable of much more.”

Finding the root of the Nets’ midseason turnaround is as uncomplicated as Prokhorov’s assessment suggested. They are now 11-2 since Prokhorov dropped the ax and promoted P.J. Carlesimo after their solid 88-85 victory over the New York Knicks Monday at Madison Square Garden.

The basic reason for the historic interim malaise is simple: No matter who has the clipboard, the players are the same.

In the Nets’ case, though, while the players haven’t changed, their individual performances certainly have. Carlesimo has made minor adjustments to the rotation, encouraged a bit more freedom on offense and lightened the mood with the occasional joke.

“A game plan is meaningless if the guys don’t execute it,” the frank and experienced Carlesimo said after his latest win.

 “Whenever you have a guy that means that much to you, your franchise player, when Deron picked it up, we picked it up,” Nets veteran Jerry Stackhouse said. “I don’t think there’s any coincidence. Yeah, the coaching change, you can spin that all you want to, but the guys on the court are the ones who really matter.”

 

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