It takes more than bad luck to find yourself in as big a hole as the Nets have dug themselves in this year, but in fairness (and with a nod to Albert King), if it wasn't for bad luck, they wouldn't have no luck at all.

The Nets got off to a nice start at 5-3, but with a dismal 6-14 mark since, including three straight losses, the team has now plummeted to 11-17. The good news is that's still good enough for second place in the laughable Atlantic Division. The bad news is it's starting to look like (considering the Nets are three games back of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference) the only Atlantic team that will make the playoffs will be the division winner. Could the Nets miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000-01?

Certainly the Nets have had their shares of injury woes this year, from a hobbled Richard Jefferson to several losses in their big men ranks, most recently a season-ending injury to Nenad Krstic.

Last night the Nets suffered a different kind of tough break, as a non-call against Vince Carter took away a glorious opportunity to steal a huge road win in Detroit. It also caused Coach Lawrence Frank to boil over and require restraining from going after the officials. You don't want to let that man-beast loose – who knows what kind of damage he could inflict. (What is he, 14 years old and about 5'6"?) Even the ever-classy Jason Kidd was aghast at the officiating, and he took some serious pot shots in a post-game interview that will likely result in a loosening of his wallet.

Clearly, all is not rosy in the swamplands. On the plus side, however, the team can now look forward to its pilgrimage to Brooklyn, expected for the 2009-10 season.

The Nets have a middling offense, certainly hurt by the loss of their second-leading scorer Krstic, who not only was having a career year, but is pretty well the only big they have who can generate offense on his own. On defense, it's a bend, but don't break mentality. For a team that's dead last in steals per game (RJ and Jason Collins have really fallen off in that area), near the bottom in blocks (the loss of Krstic hurts even more here) and allows a high number of assists per game, the Nets are holding their own thanks to excellent rebounding (especially on the defensive glass; having the best rebounding guard in the NBA in Kidd sure helps here). They've also managed to hold their opponents to the eighth lowest field goal percentage in the league.

Now let's explore the Nets' PT situation.

Despite persistent rumors of his impending demise, Kidd remains one of the best point guards in the NBA. He's currently second in the association with 9.5 APG and is a triple double threat every game. However, after a career-high 139 3-pointers last year, Kidd is struggling from the perimeter this season at just 26-of-91 (28.6 percent).

The enigmatic Vince Carter starts at the two-guard and it appears the honeymoon is over in New Jersey as the team has seen what happens when Carter doesn't feel like showing up every night. Last night he broke through with 28 points, to snap a bit of a scoring skid. But his shooting has suffered of late (25-for-63) in the past three and Carter is relying on his outside game more than ever this year, something that will leave him more vulnerable to shooting slumps.

Small forward Jefferson, the recipient of more touches after the loss of Krstic, looks to be picking things up of late with three straight games of 18 points. Clearly, however, RJ is laboring with ankle pain, a situation where if the discomfort becomes unbearable, it may necessitate shutting it down and undergoing surgery. He's already had to miss some time, and Jefferson's numbers are down across the board.

After a one-game experiment going small with Eddie House starting, Mikki Moore shifted into the starting five on Tuesday at power forward. He didn't exactly take advantage of the extra minutes, managing just eight points and three boards. Moore is not much of an offensive threat, but he's definitely capable of pulling down more rebounds than that. In fact, he had 20 in the three games prior to yesterday. If he continues to start, Moore can help you in rebounding.

Collins, the normal starting power forward, has been shifted to center the past two games and he's one of the players who will be asked to pick up his scoring and rebounding in the absence of Krstic. Collins will never confuse anyone for an offensive threat, but he did manage a season-high 14 on Tuesday, so if he can step up like that on occasion, that will be a help.

The player who may benefit most from Krstic's injury is rookie Josh Boone, who's been thrust into the rotation the past two games. Last night, he played starter-type minutes off the bench, scoring six points and pulling down 12 boards in 30 minutes before fouling out. It wouldn't shock me to see Boone get a shot at the starting four or five job very soon.

Back-up SG House went nuts on Saturday, scoring 22 points in his start. His reward? Severely cut PT on Tuesday when he managed just two measly points. Because of his ability to light it up from outside, House will occasionally go off for big games. Predicting when that will happen, however, is tricky business.

Sophomore swingman Antoine Wright had been getting plenty of PT, especially when Jefferson was out, but in the past week, he's been an afterthought, taking two DNPs in four games. Certainly if and when RJ decides to shut it down for the year, Wright stands to gain the most, but right now, he has no value whatsoever.

If you're looking for a sleeper, think about the venerable Cliff Robinson. He's going to be back from arthroscopic knee surgery early in the New Year and he could definitely factor into the big man mix.

Rookie PG Marcus Williams has shown flashes of brilliance, but is not playing significant enough minutes to be of any use currently. To make matters worse, he was forced to the sidelines last night because of a stiff back. It's obvious that Kidd is not quite ready to hand over the offensive reins to the rook. Williams is a great long-term prospect, but his time has yet to come.

SF Bostjan Nachbar will definitely get extra minutes in the event of RJ going down, and in the Krstic fallout, there's a chance he'll pick up extra minutes at PF should the Nets look to go with a small lineup again. Right now, however, Nachbar isn't seeing the necessary traction to make him useful for fantasy purposes.

Back-up guard Hassan Adams is a tremendous energy player off the bench, and last week he was earning some significant minutes, but those have dried up this week leaving him again without value.

Finally, Yugoslavian import Mile Ilic may see some PT as part of the domino effect of Krstic's injury, but so far it hasn't happened. At least he got to dress the last two…I suppose that's progress.

Sacramento

Although the Kings are coming off a big road win in Denver on Friday in which they snapped a three-game skid and ruined Allen Iverson's debut as a Nugget, it's been a tough month. Sacramento is just 3-8 in December after enjoying a solid 8-5 November.

PF Kenny Thomas' minutes are way down this week, and why not? The undersized Thomas is just 1-for-8 for two points in two games combined. Coach Musselman really needs to inject some offense into his club by getting Shareef Abdur-Rahim into the starting lineup. Of course, SAR is having problems with his knees these days, so maybe he's not the answer.

Corliss Williamson has been getting a bit more PT this week, but still not enough to land on your radar. He's also dealing with knee issues.

SG Kevin Martin returned this week, just in time for Ron Artest to go down with a knee problem. This allowed John Salmons to slide over to Artest's SF spot. It's really time for Martin to take over as this team's main scoring option. The fact that Mike Bibby is taking more shots despite his continued struggles from the floor is one of the Kings' biggest problems.

As for Artest, rumors persist that he's on the way out in a deal to the Clippers for Corey Maggette. While Artest sits, Salmons is really taking advantage of the PT, chalking up his first career triple double on Friday.

Rookie guard Quincy Douby played a career-high 18 minutes on Friday, responding with eight points. He could be someone to watch if he can continue to provide a spark for Sacramento.

Brad Miller is finally playing starter-type minutes and his offense has really picked up with three straight games of at least 19 points. Friday, he recorded his first double-double of the season. Considering Miller had 29 last year, this is another big reason why the Kings find themselves in fourth place in the Pacific and currently out of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Toronto

The Raptors managed to go 2-2 on a grueling, five-day, four-game Western Swing and suddenly find themselves in first place in the Atlantic Division for the first time since November 25, 2003.

And the news gets better for Toronto: having played a league-high 18 road games, it finally gets to enjoy some home cooking with five of the next six and 11 of the next 16 at the ACC. This gives the Raps a real chance to open up a division lead. The club was expecting to get all-star Chris Bosh back tonight, but his bruised left knee will keep him on the sidelines for probably another three games. On the plus side, the Raps have learned to win without him, going 5-4 in his absence, as T.J. Ford has shown great leadership and is developing into one of the game's better floor generals.

Kris Humphries, who missed a game last week because of illness, returned on Wednesday and found himself in the starting lineup for Jorge Garbajosa, out with a strained calf. Humphries didn't play much even as a starter, and when Garbo returned Friday, Humphries played even less off the bench. Garbajosa, by the way, has provided a tremendous boost to the team as part of the Raptors' wave of Euro players added this season. He's over his early-season shooting woes, and is capable of pitching in off the glass as well.

Center Rasho Nesterovic has been seeing more starter-type minutes of late as the Raptors abandoned their early-season run and gun offense. That offseason deal that sent Eric Williams and fan-favorite Matt Bonner to San Antonio for Rasho is looking good as Nesterovic has shown a scoring touch of late with three straight double-digit games and he's been doing a very good rebounding job. He even threw a block party Saturday with three swats.

Swingman Morris Peterson seems to have slipped in the rotation pecking order lately, having played just 46 minutes over the past three, and just 25 in the last two. Saturday, he sat the entire second half after playing 10 minutes in the opening half. MoPete certainly didn't help himself by failing to get back for Tuesday's practice session after the team had a couple of days off for the break. Travel delays left him stuck in Flint, Michigan, but there's no word whether Michael Moore is planning a documentary on this conspiracy.

Former Longhorn P.J. Tucker's minutes have shrunk this week after he got a chance to showcase his skills last week.

Starting two-guard Anthony Parker's minutes have been inconsistent this week. The former Maccabi star has shot poorly the past couple of games, so it could open the door for Peterson to get more minutes again.

Rookie Andrea Bargnani's PT is also down this week. On Friday, however, he came up big with the game-winning shot in OT. But foul trouble on Saturday rendered him stuck on the bench for most of the night, and he wasn't exactly effective in the limited minutes he did see (1-for-7, three points). Don't sweat it; you can see him maturing every time he takes the floor and rest assured that he'll get significant minutes again this coming week (especially with Bosh's delayed return).

Jose Calderon returned Friday from that scary fall last weekend that looked like it might knock him out for a while. He was great on Saturday, dropping a season-high 10 dimes. His return has sent Darrick Martin back to the DNP zone. He was getting some decent burn off the bench for a couple of games, but Martin's chief value to the Raptors is his veteran influence; he's almost like a playing coach and he's been fantastic with the younger members on this team.

Fred Jones has been filling it up off the bench lately with 18 PPG over the past three, so he deserves another look.

Phoenix

The Suns were finally stopped this week, first by the Denver snowstorm and then by a hot Wizards team. Last night, however, Phoenix got back to its winning ways, hammering Portland for a 16th win in 17 tries.

With a tight overtime loss on Friday and an easy win Tuesday, it was feast or famine as the starters generally played heavy minutes one game and then got plenty of rest the next.

On Friday, Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw were all called on to play more than usual as Coach D'Antoni really shortened the bench, while last night, Nash, Marion and Diaw each got some extra rest.

Marion, by the way, has really picked up his scoring this week with 51 points in the past two.

Bell broke a scoring drought on Tuesday with 18 points. But the highlight from Tuesday was seeing Nash's protégé go wild. Leandro Barbosa started slowly, but went crazy in scoring 21 of the team's 27 points in a 6:21 stretch. The Brazilian Blur sure lived up to his nickname Tuesday.

Diaw has been putting up the offense lately, but he came up empty on Tuesday. He had one of the weirder lines you'll see this year with eight assists, but no points and no rebounds. You have to love those 19 assists Diaw has racked up in the past two games, but a goose egg in points and boards? If this is the start of another of Diaw's cold streaks, watch for Barbosa to get more PT.

Marcus Banks got some decent minutes last week, but that's obviously not going to continue. In fact, other than Barbosa, Phoenix really isn't employing the bench much these days. James Jones had been getting some significant minutes and every opportunity to become the number three man off the bench, but he couldn't get his shot to stick, so he's played just three combined minutes this week as D'Antoni is getting a look at the other J-Jones, as in Jumaine. Jumaine isn't playing enough to pay attention to yet, but with a season-high 13 last night, he could be in line for some significant minutes in the coming week.

Indiana

Indiana has continued its inconsistent play this week. While the Pacers' defense has really stepped up this week, holding opponents to the lowest total all year for two straight games, they've only won one of those games. This is the way things have gone all year for Indy, as the team has failed to win more than two in a row, but also hasn't lost more than three straight.

Luckily, the Pacers are in the East, which means that a middling 16-14 record is still good enough for seventh place in the conference.

Al Harrington's minutes are up this week, and last night he finally broke out with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Maybe this is the start of something for the struggling Harrington.

Jeff Foster has also seen more action this week and he's been a beast on the boards, pulling down at least 11 in each of the past four games.

Darrell Armstrong was getting significant minutes off the bench, but his PT has dropped this week.

Sixth man Danny Granger struggled a bit this week, and saw less PT on Saturday, but he bounced back last night with 13 points, six boards and an assist.

Jermaine O'Neal had to miss Tuesday's game when flu-like symptoms necessitated a trip to the hospital. Playing in place of the NBA's leading shot blocker and Indy's top scorer and rebounder was rookie Shawne Williams. The 20-year-old got extra minutes in his first career start, but didn't exactly burn it up with no points and just two boards. He's barely been playing and really should be farmed out to the NBDL, but the team plans to hold off on that for now. Maceo Baston, who probably should have started instead of Williams, got extra minutes to help make up for O'Neal's absence.

Back-up PG Sarunas Jasikevicius has managed to sink just four of his past 16 shots. His PT was cut last night and if he continues to struggle, his limited value will disappear. The Jamaal Tinsley injury watch continues, but until it happens, Jasikevicius should be shelved.

Fast Breaks

Miami PG: Jason Williams' PT is still unsteady, but when he plays big minutes, the Heat is 9-0. Obviously his ability to play more is affecting whether Gary Payton plays at all. On Saturday, for instance, Payton took a DNP, but he managed to contribute nine points, three assists and two steals on Monday. Williams, on the other hand, must have been thinking about what he did or didn't get for Christmas, because he was just 1-for-7 with three points and three assists in 24 minutes. It seems as if J-Will is only playing starter-type minutes every other game, so owners who are in leagues that allow daily moves may want to monitor this situation.

LA Lakers frontcourt: Brian Cook has taken over from Vladimir Radmanovic as the starting power forward, but his minutes have dropped in the past two games and after Cook's 2-for-6, four-point game on Christmas Day, expect Coach Jackson to let Radman take over again. Radmanovic is still limited offensively by an injured hand, but at least he's rebounding more lately. Lamar Odom could still be out for almost four weeks more, so someone has to step up here. Luke Walton is playing less minutes this week, and hasn't enjoyed the expected increase in touches in Odom's absence, so he's been struggling offensively. At least he managed 10 on Monday, his first double-digit effort in over a week. Walton averaged 12.5 PPG in 31.7 MPG in November, but he's slipped to 11.8 in December despite more minutes (35.5). Kwame Brown has also seen less time this week as his numbers have slipped, while forgotten man Andrew Bynum has picked up speed. On Monday, however, Bynum was in constant foul trouble, so Ronny Turiaf got his most significant PT since November 1. Turiaf came through with 13 points, seven boards, a steal and a block, so look for him to get more traction in the coming week.

Golden St. frontcourt: Mickael Pietrus missed Saturday with a busted nose, so Mike Dunleavy got the start, but Pietrus bounced back last night with 17 points and a steal. Perhaps the faceguard was bothering him, however, as the turned the ball over five times. Dunleavy, meanwhile, even in reduced minutes off the bench, continued his strong play. He really deserves a starting gig, but the Warrior frontcourt is a crowded place.