Wow, a week can really change things. Last week at this time, I was complaining about injuries to Darrell Armstrong and the lackluster play of Vince Carter. Now a week later, the team has continued to get decent offensive production from Antoine Wright and Nachbar Bostjan. That help from the bench, combined with the solid play of Richard Jefferson, the Nets have won three games in a row.

However, to be perfectly honest, this team needs that kind of scoring every night to keep pace with the rest of the teams in the conference. This kind of play lately almost feels like it’s something that isn’t going to be taking place all season. As we all know, Wright has taken his time developing and it feels like he can revert to his old self at any point. Bostjan on the other hand is starting to prove that his solid play from last season was no fluke. However, how long can he keep his play?

Additionally, someone else besides Jason Kidd needs to start getting rebounds on this team. Jefferson and Carter help out in that area as well, but I think Sean Williams, who hasn’t done a thing since his 22-point effort last week against the Heat, and Josh Boone [if he could get some playing time] would be the two main guys that could help the team in that area.

Some think Jamaal Magloire is another guy who would be getting more boards, but averaging almost four a game with the playing time he’s been getting is just fine. Two seasons ago with the Bucks, he was averaging almost 10 rebounds a game playing 30 minutes a game. Asking for more than four in only 13 is a little too much.

Over the last week and change, Nenad Krstic’s playing time has decreased a lot as well. In fact, he hasn’t played the last two games and only played a combined 14 minutes in the two games he played before that. Is he a non-factor in the Nets offensive scheme right now? You can bet on it. At this point, the Nets need to start getting people like Magloire, Boone, Williams and Bostjan as involved in the offense as possible. Even when Krstic is fully healthy, having options on the bench will be extremely helpful when he isn’t effective against the bigger teams in the division.

Well, at least the Nets are starting to get more scoring from players not named Carter, Kidd and Jefferson. With a 7-7 record, the Nets officially have a clean slate. Lets see where they can take things from here.

Ten games into the season and the Nets have already started to go into the well of the free-agent pool to sign players to replace injured ones. After Darrell Armstrong’s thigh injury on Wednesday against the Celtics, the Nets were forced to sign Eddie Gill. For those of you who have already forgotten Gill’s AMAZING preseason with the team, the guy was cut after four games for a reason.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but when is Marcus Williams coming back? At this point, I would have rather had David Wesley playing out of position or Robert Hite playing there than Gill. I know it’s only about 10 minutes a game this guy is going to have coming off the bench, but those 10 minutes looked a lot better with a veteran like Armstrong than with someone who doesn’t have a great shot or good passing ability or ability to help on the boards.

However, while that injury will hurt the Nets Vince Carter’s may hurt them more, depending on what they do on offense without him. Before his injury, the guy wasn’t shooting effectively at all, shooting barely 39 percent from the field. Definitely not what the Nets needed from Carter this year. With Jason Kidd not scoring at his usual 13 point clip and missing shots as well, the Nets have been hard pressed for offense from other sources.

Luckily [I can’t believe I’m about to say this] Antoine Wright has scored 14 points in both of his last two games and Sean Williams is starting show fans why the team drafted him in the first round considering all the off the court problems he had.

Scoring 22 points against the Heat the other night, Williams looked strong in the low post, but needs to be more of a force away from the basketball there and start hitting more free throws before he truly starts to blossom. This team isn’t rebounding nearly as much as they need to lately and if the rookie steps up his game, he can help change things. Every knowledgeable basketball fan knows that good teams rebound well and in order for the Nets to crack this dry spell, they have to start busting their rumps on the boards. Nenad Krstic was never a force on the boards and the way he has played as of late, Williams may be getting more playing time until the seven-foot Yugoslavian is 100 percent and can start scoring again.

Earlier in the season, I thought the Nets would bring Williams along slowly, instead relying on free agent pickup Jamal Magloire to play the majority of the backup minutes. That hasn’t happened yet. The way the past week has gone for the Nets, you have to wonder what’s going to happen next.

Despite a tough loss against the new-look Celtics on Saturday, you’ve got to be somewhat pleased with how the Nets have played this season. Sure, they haven’t gotten a tremendous amount of scoring from anyone besides Richard Jefferson and need to start rebounding better on offense, but besides that, they’ve done some of the smaller things that have gotten them wins.

For instance, Jason Kidd is passing the ball and creating offense, in addition to leading the team in rebounding. That might not mean much this early in the season, but to me it shows that Kidd is trying to be a spark plug on a team that really needs one.

On the defensive side of the ball, the team getting enough boards, as Jamal Magloire, Kidd, Jefferson and Vince Carter are all averaging over four rebounds a game, but that’s still not enough. As far as rebounding goes, this team is towards the bottom of the league. That has got to change if this team is focused on making the playoffs this season.

Additionally, I’m sure I’m not the only one that expected the team to play a little better on offense. Especially considering all the hype this offseason about how Sean Williams and Josh Boone were going to get more playing time to help out down low and get some easy buckets. All I’ve seen so far is Jason Collins taking up space down low and Nenad Krstic missing most of the shots he’s taking.

The other day in the New York Post, Krstic said he felt 75-80 percent, but he was feeling better everyday. I got news for you, if you feel that you’re that far away from being 100 percent, I don’t think you should be playing. Give Williams, Magloire or someone else an opportunity to play some minutes. Shooting 37 percent from the field and scoring 6.5 points a game isn’t going to cut the mustard from your starting center in the NBA. Unless your Luc Longley and have Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen on your team. While Vince Carter and Jason Kidd are no slouches, they’re not and will never be Pippen and Jordan.

Once Lawrence Frank decides to let Krstic rest until he’s completely ready to play, the Nets are going to get a mediocre effort from him and whoever steps in for him off the bench. Look at it from the opposition’s point of view. You’re playing against a dude with a bad knee and you’re kicking his tail down low. Once he comes out, you’ll have the confidence you need to play against anybody else. This is what’s happening to the Nets down low so far this season.

Once they can solve that problem, they’ll be able to take their game to the next level. Right now though, Kidd, Jefferson and Carter better keep up the tough play.

With a 2-1 record through their first three games, the Nets haven’t been that shabby. Aside from the 106-69 smackdown they suffered against the Raptors, New Jersey’s offense has been pretty solid, thanks to the play of Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright?

Yes, Antoine Wright. After spending the entire summer in Las Vegas working on his game, Wright has averaged over 13 points and 25 minutes a game through the first three games of the season and a career high 21-points opening night. Good stuff for a guy whose option the Nets didn’t want to pick up.

For a first round pick, Wright has taken his time developing, but I’m sure the Nets were just trying to motivate him by not picking up his option. Having a young player who hasn’t proven himself feel comfortable is a formula for disaster. The Nets need Wright to play hungry. So far this season, Wright has looked that way.

Possible Platoon at Center?: Earlier this season I wrote about how Nenad Krstic may not be 100% for quite some time. Considering the fact that he’s only averaged a little over 17 minutes in three games this season and Sean Williams had four blocks in 20 minutes in his first game with the team, a platoon at center could be in the works. Krstic isn’t a great defensive player, but can score and Williams can block shots; if done correctly, the Nets could get some quality minutes out of both of them.

Armstrong PO’ed- Well, in his situation, I might have been pissed off too. According to Armstrong, the Pacers weren’t exactly honest with him about talks regarding his spot on the team last season.

Now a Net, Armstrong ripped Bird in his hometown newspaper. If he was younger, I wouldn’t have thought this was a great move, but Armstrong has been around long enough that this really won’t hurt his reputation. He’s a dinosaur that hasn’t been the same player for quite some time and is probably going to bounce around the league as a role player until people decide not to pay him anymore. He’s still a serviceable role player, but it’s highly doubtful he’s ever crack 25 minutes a game or 10 points a game again in his career.

In his position, he can basically say whatever he wants about anybody. He’s made his money and is basically playing now because he loves the game. Let him vent too while he’s at it.

Nets waive Wesley- Just when I was saying that the Nets were looking for a washed up shooter to add depth to the bench, the Nets go and waive David Wesley. The only question is, will anybody else want to pick him up? My vote is no. Ilic and Robinson look pretty good right about now, don’t they?