form the new york post http://nypost.com/sports/nets/1918.htm <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">May 26, 2003 -- OK, everyone who thought a few months ago that the Nets would be in the position they hold today - on the way to the NBA Finals with a real chance of winning it all - raise your hand. Liars. "If you look at the second half of the year, we were 15-18. Any time you go 30 games or so and you're below .500, there's concern," team president Rod Thorn admitted yesterday. "The second half, we just didn't shoot the ball with any kind of consistency. Defensively we didn't have the energy we normally have or have in the playoffs. But starting with the first game of the playoffs when we came out and played great against Milwaukee, there was great energy." And there is a belief among these Nets - a point of view adopted by those they've vanquished - that they will hold aloft the NBA trophy after seven or six or how many games still remain on their plate against the Spurs or Mavs. This team is playing magnificently, winning 10 straight playoff games, a feat only three other teams in history have managed. They've swept back-to-back series, dispatching the Pistons to golf dates with a 102-82 rout Saturday in the Meadowlands to secure a return ticket to the Finals. Last year, the Nets went to the Finals with all the awe of Dorothy and friends seeing Oz for the first time. This year, the Nets are ready. Those guys on the other side of the curtain are human. "We know what to expect," said Jason Collins. "Going through what we went through last year, we've just grown as a team, growing together, building on that. Just the experience of going through the playoffs helped us out a lot," said Kenyon Martin, whose game has risen to the level of Olympus in the playoffs. "We're in it to win it," Lucious Harris said simply. No, they are not just happy to be there like last year. "That's true. It was such a relief after losing that dog-gone Game [3] in Boston last year. We blew that 20-point lead and to come back and win it, it was 'Oh my, goodness,' " said Thorn. "I could see that when I walked out there in the Staples Center last year when I was looking at the guys' faces. We were happy to be there. This year it's totally different," Byron Scott maintains. This year, there is purpose, belief. "We must keep the same mindset and not just be happy to be there. We went down this road last year," said Jason Kidd. "We have to think that we haven't really done anything. We've defended our crown as Eastern Conference champs, but there's a big crown out there and only one team can win it. We want to be that team." In last year's Finals, the Nets went home after four games. The season? A success. Hey, they went to the Finals, didn't they? This year, they said the Finals had to produce title rings, not just more experience. About 65-70 games into the season, to mention "Nets" and "Finals" together was blasphemy. They lost in CLEVELAND. Twice. They were 15-18 after the All-Star Game, shooting .432 in those last 33 games after going .447 before the break. But they never stopped believing. Or winning, once the playoffs started. They are 12-2, including 6-1 on the road. "That one-hit wonder stuff is gone. We have something special here. We're just going to try to keep building on it," Scott said. All the way to a title. And it's OK this time if you have your hand up.</div>
