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As the Nets left for Indiana on Thursday, they probably weren't thinking like the rest of us, who believe if they have any shot of getting a game on this trip this is the one.

On second thought, some of them might be thinking that way.

We don't know that for sure because every athlete is confident his team can win, regardless of circumstances. So the Nets probably believe they can win all three.

Our take, and we believe it's the popular one, is the Nets haven’t won three times in 22 games thus far. So getting all three with stops in Atlanta and Cleveland aren't high on the probability scale.

Shoot for three, but a 1-2 trip would be considered good and actually would raise the Nets’ winning percentage from .09 to .13. But they must win Friday night.

The Nets play the Pacers,

CHICAGO -- Anyone who has watched the Nets has seen this game at least 10, 12 times. Only there was something very different.

They usually take an early lead, lose the advantage as well as their focus and poise after halftime, and talk about the need to learn how to finish out games.

Tuesday night the Nets took the lead in the first quarter, didn’t lose it until late in the game, but they never lost their poise, confidence or belief.

They showed a mettle that’s been greatly lacking for most of this season and pulled out a 103-101 win over the Bulls at the United Center.

The Bulls are not a good team, but this still was a major step for the Nets and a sign that they’re headed in the right direction.

Problems still remain because their defense faltered with the game

Yi Jianlian’s NBA career isn’t going is he hoped, and his Nets’ career isn’t going how anyone hoped.

The Nets knew they were taking a risk in trading productive and popular Richard Jefferson for the unproven Yi, and with each injury he suffers, the trade looks worse and worse. He suffered a busted lip Saturday and could miss up to two weeks.

With each injury, you can continue to question why the Nets included Ryan Anderson in the deal involving Vince Carter or didn't draft Tyler Hansbrough, though he suffered an injury, too.

Yi’s injuries and the questions about the moves seem like they will be ongoing things. We know why Anderson had to be involved; Orlando wouldn’t have done the deal otherwise. The Nets were high on Hansbrough, but felt Terrence

Kiki Vandeweghe stood in front of the Nets’ bench, clapped and told his team to “Focus, guys. Focus.” It was the second half and you could tell the Nets were losing it.

The Knicks had the Nets rattled throughout the second half of a game the visitors had a good chance of winning.

For so much of the game, the Nets looked as if they might be on their way to turning the proverbial corner and building off their first win Friday against Charlotte. But in the end, they looked like the team that lost 18 in a row to start the season.

No, it wasn’t as bad as some of those games and the Nets will get better, but they buckled under when the Knicks turned up their defense and dropped a 106-97 decision in Madison Square Garden.

Put it on the Knicks’ going to a zone

There were more players and coaches on the Nets’ practice floor today than there have been at any point this season.

Kiki Vandeweghe and Del Harris ran their first practice as the Nets’ new head coach and assistant, respectively. The Nets’ opening-night starting five was out there together for the first time since Oct. 30. There was a little bit of old and a little bit of new.

But this time is more about out with the old and in with the new.

The Nets made a coaching change. They’re turning the page on everything that happened leading up to this point and trying to build something starting now. The 0-18 record still stands, but under Vandeweghe’s and Harris’ watch, they’re 0-0. So Vandeweghe said he tried to simplify things today and make things

The Nets were supposed to be insignificant this season, but they did something significant last night. Forgive them for not popping any champagne.

But it sounds like one of their players wants to pop someone.

Maybe the Nets will uncork the bubbly when they finally win a game, whenever that is. Thus far they’re 0-for-18. No team in NBA history has lost that many games in a row to start a season. Not the Clippers, a perennial doormat or even the 1972-73 Sixers, who won just nine games in that fateful and forgettable season.

No, the Nets stand alone after their 117-101 loss last night to the Mavericks. An 0-18 record is the new standard and dare we say 18 and counting.

This was going to be a tough game to get against Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and the Mavericks, but the Nets laid

Rod Thorn had a serious look on his face as he made his way to the podium Tuesday and Kiki Vandeweghe was smiling. One man probably was hiding his real emotions, and it wasn’t the Nets president.

Vandeweghe is a pleasant man. He smiles often. So maybe he was in a good mood and just generally happy. But he really didn’t want to be the Nets head coach. He needed Thorn to convince him and the inclusion of NBA lifer and former co-worker Del Harris before Vandeweghe agreed to replace Lawrence Frank.

“Let me just say, Rod is a very persuasive guy,” Vandeweghe said Tuesday morning.

Maybe Vandeweghe was smiling because he doesn’t have to take part in the Nets’ potential -- and probable -- record-setting performance Wednesday night. If they lose to the Mavericks,

Anyone hoping for the same type of reaction from the Nets after their last coaching change had to be disappointed last night. But there are some major differences.

When Byron Scott was fired in 2004, the players wanted him out. They had stopped playing for him. They knew they were good and could turn it on at any moment, and that’s what Jason Kidd and company did for Lawrence Frank, reeling off 13 consecutive wins after he took over.

After Frank was ousted yesterday, the Nets had to play the reigning champion Lakers in their building at the end of a long, dreary trip. They didn’t have a day or so to catch their breaths. And there are no Hall of Famers on this team, no one to lead them the way Kidd did. At this point, the Nets would be happy to win 13 games this season.

For

The Nets have had many regrettable days, forgettable moments and embarrassing times in their star-crossed history. You can add the events of Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 to their annals.

Early in the day, the Nets made hard-working head coach Lawrence Frank the fall guy for their struggles this injury-plagued season. Then the Nets were absolutely throttled by the Lakers as they trailed by 34 points and matched the 1988-89 Heat and 1998-99 Clippers for the worst start in NBA history by dropping to 0-17.

The Nets have seen worse days -– like when they traded Julius Erving and lost Drazen Petrovic to a fatal car wreck. But this day, culminating with a 106-87 defeat at Staples Center in longtime assistant Tom Barrise’s head coaching debut, has to rank high on the list of all-encompassing