MINNEAPOLIS – The Nets had every intention of putting 2010 behind them, all they went through, all the change, all the heartache, and start 2011 the right way. But the New Year opened with even more heartache, more headshakes and looked an awful lot like 2010.

The only thing that turned was the calendar. The Nets aren’t that much different as they showed in a dismal 103-88 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This was as embarrassing and deflating a loss as the Nets have suffered all season because of the opponent. The Nets weren’t playing the Lakers, Magic, Celtics or Heat on New Year’s night. They were playing the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the few teams that came into 2011 with a worse record than the Nets.

This was a game that should have at least gone down to the wire considering neither team is fighting for anything except Lottery combinations. The Nets (9-25) may not even be fighting for that if they give up their first-round pick for Carmelo Anthony or anyone else.

But in all fairness, why would Anthony look at this team and agree to sign a long-term extension?

The Nets will give him $65 million reasons to join them. They may want to consider giving him more.

If Anthony looks at this game, looks at this box score, sees that the team he would be joining couldn’t score 90 points against the worst defensive team, sees that Brook Lopez was outplayed by Darko Milicic and by Nikola Pekovic, he couldn’t say ‘I’m in.’

The only way Anthony could is if it’s all about the money or the Nets somehow make multiple deals and bring in a supporting cast because this team needs a major overhaul.

Things would be better if they had Anthony Morrow and Jordan Farmar healthy. The Nets could use shooters and more scorers. But even when they were healthy, the Nets were struggling to knock down shots. And too often Lopez and Devin Harris aren’t doing enough to lift the Nets and carry them through tough stretches.

Teams key on Harris and Lopez and allow Travis Outlaw, Stephen Graham, Kris Humphries or whoever is on the floor to beat them. But Harris and Lopez have to find ways to do more, especially on the offensive end.

“Offensively, we’ve got to work out some issues,” Harris said.

In last night’s game, the Nets led 55-54 at halftime and then didn’t score in the first 5:53 of the third period. They ended up with nine points in the quarter and 33 total in the second half - against a team that allows 109.6 per game.

Avery Johnson pulled Lopez and Harris early in the third and most of the starters because they weren’t doing anything on either end.

Harris was effective in the fourth, getting to the basket and drawing fouls. But he had just eight points in the second half and zero field goals. After halftime, Lopez had as many points as turnovers – four – and as many fouls as rebounds – one.

Harris at least took “most of the blame” and “full responsibility.” Sometimes when you talk to Lopez after games, you wonder if he played in the same game everyone else is watching.

“We had a terrible third quarter,” Johnson said. “We started off the quarter not focused on defense and then our offense went [down] the tubes.”

This is the norm for the Nets. You just thought in this game it would at least happen in crunch time, if it did.

It wouldn’t have been any better, and would have put their execution issues and lack of a go-to scorer under the microscope again, but to be humiliated by Minnesota (9-25) is really an indictment against the whole team.

But you have to look directly at the on-court leadership, at Lopez and Harris. They are the captains, the ones who are supposed to carry them through difficult times. They have, but not nearly often enough.

Just like last year.

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Coach’s corner

“It’s amazing sometimes how we come out of the locker room. We weren’t focused. We were passing up open shots. We weren’t passing the ball to the open man. We just didn’t look like we knew anything we were doing coming out of the second quarter where I thought we were pretty good on both ends of the floor. Not a good second half for us, not a good third quarter. They took control of the game in the third quarter and never looked back.”

- Johnson on what happened after halftime

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Follow me on Twitter: @Al_Iannazzone

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Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)