http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/241911p-207472c.html
The Knicks are again talking about how they can win the Atlantic Division.
So what's new, asks Richard Jefferson.

"There were similar statements made after they got Stephon Marbury in the middle of (last) year," said Jefferson, whose Nets open the preseason tonight against the Knicks in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. "A lot of things are easier said than done. Whenever a team has won the Atlantic Division three years in a row, regardless of the changes, there are guys that are a part of this franchise that have known nothing but winning. And they're not just going to give it up because there have been changes."

That may be easier said than done for Jefferson and the Nets. While the Knicks added Jamal Crawford, the Nets were busy spending their offseason tearing apart their team. In an effort to slice a hefty payroll, new ownership traded Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles while also deciding not to bring back Rodney Rogers and Lucious Harris.

Jason Kidd, who will not be at the game tonight so he can rehab his knee, is recovering from surgery and could be traded this season. The Nets are not the same team that swept the Knicks in last season's first round or the team that has won 16 of the last 18 games against the Knicks, including the playoffs.

Still, Tim Thomas won't let the postseason, and Jason Collins' flagrant foul in Game 1 that knocked him out of the playoffs, go.

Jefferson didn't seem too worried about Thomas or the Knicks retaliating tonight.

"They had plenty of chances," Jefferson said of the playoff series. "Was it Game1 that he got hurt? They had plenty of chances to get retribution. If they're going to wait until preseason three or four months later, gosh, it must have been a boring summer. But I don't think they have the type of players that are going to come out and try and hurt somebody in the preseason.

"Again, we felt extremely bad for what happened to Tim Thomas," Jefferson added. "You don't want to get the advantage in a series because somebody gets hurt, especially on a controversial play. I still stand by (the idea) that Jason Collins went out there just to give a hard foul and Tim Thomas' momentum carried him under. He wasn't trying to take out his legs. He wasn't going for his head."

Collins, who shares the same agent (Arn Tellem) as Thomas, reiterated that he meant no harm. Otherwise, the center didn't have much to say about the situation.

Then again, Collins and the Nets have their own problems, like trying to replace Martin and getting Kidd healthy.



NOT ZO FAST: Alonzo Mourning will not play in tonight's preseason game as he continues to make his way back from kidney transplant surgery slowly.