Nets not ready to concede Atlantic title to happy Raps Friday, February 09, 2007 BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO Star-Ledger Staff BOSTON -- Vince Carter can read like you can read, and he can tell which way the winds of momentum are blowing. For five days now, he's heard all about his pals from the Great White North -- heard it from their own mouths -- that the Toronto Raptors are not coming back to the pack anymore. He heard all about how they huddled around the TV Sunday, shortly after their rout of the Clippers, to cheer Atlanta's victory over the Nets. He could envision his friends, such as Chris Bosh and Mo Peterson, leading the high-five parade all around the Air Canada Centre locker room that he once ruled. He knows about their four-game winning streak, knows they've won 13 out of 17, knows that there is something magical about them right now. And let him be the first to say it: Let them have their fun -- for now. "I heard about the celebration, and that's okay," Carter said, as matter-of-factly as possible. "They're playing well right now, and they just might get better. "But I'm telling you, there's still a lot of season left. I believe in our team, regardless of how we've played lately. We might not look like we have the confidence they have collectively, but I'll tell you, I still have confidence in us. And people better know that I'm going to go down fighting -- until the last day, until they say, 'You're not in it anymore.' I'm going to fight until the last day, and so with the rest of the guys in here. I believe in every one of them, and I believe in our coaching staff. I believe we're going to be the ones (winning the division) in the end." That is an extraordinary statement at this point, and Carter knows it. The Nets are 3 1/2 games out of first place as they enter tonight's game against the Celtics. Maybe their confidence is restored after Wednesday's victory at Atlanta -- maybe -- but there have been too many nights lately when they looked old, worn out and uninspired. Compare that with the Raptors, who are lighting up the league right now behind Bosh, a legitimate MVP candidate, and a cadre of kids who don't know they were supposed to be lousy this season. And there is another thing that separates the two teams, a more important element to this race for division supremacy: The Raptors get it done in crunch time because Bosh has become an indomitable force. The Nets, Carter knows, just talk about it. Until he gave his team a jolt in the end-game at Atlanta, they were showing all the signs of a veteran team that had forgotten how to get it done. "That's right," Carter readily admitted. "I agree. I know it. We all know it. You can't excuse inconsistency, you can just continue to work on it. But what do you expect us to do? You can't just say, 'Damn, we're making the same mistakes over and over,' and just hang our heads. "But the turnaround starts with somebody, and then it becomes contagious. And then everybody starts to believe. That's where it has to start. I know we're at the bottom right now, but we can turn this around. And I know wholeheartedly that that is our mentality. It has to start somewhere. And it's up to the leaders -- me and J-Kidd -- to lead us." Maybe it started in Atlanta, where Carter and Jason Kidd played brilliantly in the second half, with all the role players going along for the ride. But matching Toronto's momentum is a tough task right now. The Nets have one thing in their favor: The Raps have three very difficult games coming up -- the Lakers tonight, at Detroit tomorrow, at Chicago on Tuesday -- before hosting the Nets next Wednesday. But you still get the impression that nothing can break them of the celebratory mood they're in right now. "That's okay," Cliff Robinson said. "It's a lot of momentum to try to reverse, I know it. But I've seen us put together some nice streaks since I've been here. So we'll see what happens. That's all you can do -- come in and play hard each game and hope at the end of the day that you can get it back in your favor. This isn't over, not by a long shot." Notes: Yet more history was made at Atlanta: The victory over the Hawks marked the eighth time in 12 games that the decision was by one or two points. Only one other team in league history has had such a stretch, and you have to go back to the 1957-58 Detroit Pistons.... Carter is sporting a black eye (his left) this week, courtesy of a Sam Dalembert backhand.... Lawrence Frank gave his team the day off yesterday. --

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