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"In fairness to them, they played two guards and even though they're professional basketball players, they're two guys that haven't been used to playing a lot of minutes," Triano said of Williams and Armstrong.

"We were able to get Jose inside and penetrate and as a result, he had a very good game. He controlled the tempo of the game."

Never mind that the West's best 10 teams, some of them still trying to get better, will be battling for playoff rights for the next two months, the Raptors and their Eastern contemporaries don't have the same necessity of urgency. Carter was a case in point last night. His Nets were sitting out their best player, Kidd, because of the pending trade. They came into the game clinging to seventh place in the conference, but just a game ahead of the ninth-place Hawks. And Vinsanity slouched through a 5-for-15 jump-shooting night, indifferent for $12 million a year.

In the past post-season, the Raptors, despite home-court advantage, lost their first round series to the Nets in six games.

More than anything, the series revealed a flaw in Chris Bosh's game.

When the Nets came with double-teams, Bosh had a difficult time finding cutters or making the right decision when an extra defender came at him.

"It was a painful lesson,'' Bosh said. "You have to grow from moments like that and I feel I have grown.

"As a team, we've grown as well, but it was a difficult time and a difficult way to learn through mistakes."

Jose Calderon carved the Nets much like Kidd would carve opponents, looking to score and looking to push the ball against a tired and dispirited foe that had played the night earlier.

Calderon was so efficient and has been so effective that an all-star selection should have been a no-brainer.

"I was trying see what they were doing on defence and after that, I knew they were going over the top [of the screen] and I knew I could make some plays," said Calderon, who could be in line for a spot on the all-star team if the Kidd trade goes through, opening up a spot on the Eastern Conference team.

Calderon had a flight heading to the Bahamas scheduled for 6 a.m. today, but he said he would gladly switch his plans should he get the call.

"If I get in, it's going to be exciting," Calderon said. "If not, I'm going to rest, and it's going to be really nice, too."

"I think it's a great pickup for the Nets," said John Lucas, who is back with the team to mentor and train Marcus Williams. "I like Devin a lot. I can see eventually the Nets having what Toronto has with T.J. (Ford) and Jose Calderon. They're a little different in that they can probably play together some. And now they've stayed athletic, so they can play fast.

The 34-year-old Kidd, who had sought to be moved to a contender since November -- or since Thorn refused to give him a contract extension that would cover the 2009-10 season -- appeared to be stuck in New Jersey as recently as Tuesday, when Nets officials thought the Mavericks would not reconsider their refusal to include Harris in any deal.

But Dallas' desperation spiked after back-to-back losses Sunday at Izod Center -- where Kidd had left a very favorable impression on Mavs owner Mark Cuban and coach Avery Johnson -- and Monday night in Philadelphia, where the Mavericks scored only 23 points in the second half with Harris still sidelined by a bruised left ankle.

mintsa wrote:Thanks for the papers.

SS girl is nice today.

Japen wrote:I thought we were keeping lucas as a coach? He found another gig pretty quick!

YogiStewart wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



i swear to you: i was supposed to go on a date with her years back, but i hated what she was wearing when i met her and lost interest.

YogiStewart wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



i swear to you: i was supposed to go on a date with her years back, but i hated what she was wearing when i met her and lost interest.

Mad Prophet wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



It must have been right after the game, because he was behind the Raptor bench during the game.