by Dave D'Alessandro/The Star-Ledger Sunday December 07, 2008, 7:53 PM The Nets' Yi Jianlian blocks a shot by the 76ers' Andre Miller Saturday night.Through the first month of the season, the Nets have fashioned an identity based almost entirely on team speed, offensive energy, youthful exuberance, fourth-quarter mental toughness, resilience in the face of injury, and the incandescent play of point guard Devin Harris. Defense? Eh ... not so much. But the past two games have served a useful purpose, and that is to confuse the heck out of the competition. Entering the weekend, the Nets had yielded an average of 105 points per game in their first 17 games. In the past two games, however, they limited Minnesota and Philadelphia to 84 apiece, forcing them to shoot a combined 39.3 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from 3-point range. Which raises the question: What's going on here? "That's been our priority, to get better on defense -- individually and as a team," said backup center Stromile Swift, whose return from a back injury has helped the cause. "I think the last two games we've been pretty decent -- I wouldn't say great, but decent. "I think we've gained a lot of confidence by defending this way the last two games. Winning helps. It builds confidence. And when you're confident, you make shots, and it snowballs." He was being modest: The Nets gave their best defensive performance of the season at Philly -- with four rock-solid quarters, not just one or two -- and they probably could have held the Sixers to fewer than 80 points had they not gift-wrapped some extra points with turnovers that led to breakaways. And almost all of their success Saturday night had to do with coach Lawrence Frank throwing a fist in the air -- signaling his team to play zone. In the first half alone, the Nets zoned for roughly 21 possessions, and got 16 stops out of it. In the second half, using primarily zone again, they held the Sixers to 8-for-27 shooting (forcing six turnovers) over the last 17 minutes. "Basically it's hit or miss, depending on the opponent we're going to play," Nets forward Bobby Simmons said of zone efficiency. "(The Sixers) don't have a lot of outstanding shooters, so we want that." Still, this is not the Nets team that others had come to know. Winning with defense isn't exactly in their DNA. "We can do a good enough job to win games," Harris said. "Obviously, it's not going to be the (NBA's) best. We're not going to be a lock-down type of team. But we can make some strides in certain areas." "The difference is that we trust each other more now," Vince Carter said. "Everything else comes from that; we trust that if we can make a guy drive, fine -- if he beats us, he beats us, but someone's going to be there. It's a slow process. We were really bad early, but I think we're getting there. "So the thing we were missing was communication -- like not calling out screens. I was excited when I got to play in the back of the zone, because I have a big mouth. The guy back there can talk and dictate and yell at guys, and after a while it's a habit -- everyone takes it upon himself to do it." Moral of the story? "It's really the best way you can play on the road: You have to rely on defense," Carter said. "Everyone pulling together." As of this morning, the Nets have pulled together a 7-3 road record, which is the fourth-best in the NBA by percentage. And as of this morning, they are tied for fifth place in an improved Eastern Conference. Yes, fifth place -- one game out of fourth, where Atlanta resides. "We're not surprised," Harris said. "We know what we're capable of doing. It's just going to be a thing all year long: We have to keep proving ourselves. We'll obviously take some steps back, and we want to be consistent as possible, keep getting better as the season goes on." "That 11-8 sounds right," Carter said with a nod. "I'm really not that surprised -- I thought we'd be pretty good. I didn't think we'd be 15-1, but 11-8 sounds good." How high is up? Now Carter was smiling. "Stay tuned," he said. "Stay tuned." http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2008/12/new_jersey_nets_showing_sudden.html --

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