Talk about a spirited first game for Devin Harris and his new team, the New Jersey Nets. I don’t know how you guys felt, but I thought his being here on Thursday affected the entire team. The energy on the court was so solid, from the starting lineup, down to the bench. It almost felt like the team knew they were starting a new chapter. They could put the first 57 games of the season and all the up and downs behind them and focus on cementing a playoff spot. While the Nets will have to get very hot down the stretch to give them a possibility of making it past the first round this year, they can make things very interesting down the stretch.

Only two games behind Washington for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, the Nets would obviously rather play Toronto first in the playoffs than Boston. In order to do that though, they are going to have to get significant contributions from everyone on the court. With that being said, outscoring the Bucks bench 48-8 is a pretty damn good start.

I love the way this team has options now on the bench and doesn’t have to force guys like Nenad Krstic and Marcus Williams to get back in the swing of things. Harris looked amazing off the bench and was able to get right into the game once he checked in. DeSagana Diop was also solid off the bench on Thursday, as was Bostjan Nachbar and Josh Boone may not be a superstar, but he’s doing a solid job on the boards and is scoring in double digits much more than he was earlier in the season.

Williams lost in the crowd?- I am worried about the amount of playing time Sean Williams has been getting lately, having not played over 20 minutes a game since February 13, but he’s going to have to establish himself more in the low post if he wants to get into more games. As far as I’m concerned, this kind of competition and the Nets newly improved bench could prove negative for Williams’ development, but at his age, the competition could be good for him.

Nonetheless, things are about to get much harder, with a few games against San Antonio on Sunday and Tuesday and Dallas and Houston on the horizon. This is where this Nets team can begin to solidify their spot in lower playoff brackets and make life easier for themselves.