IF, and it remains a big IF, the Nets pull off an upset of the Hawks in Round 1, a lot of credit has to go to Lionel Hollins. He has, as Stefan Bondy and others note, "has pushed all the right buttons in search of an upset few thought possible."
It's not just the x's and o's, the late game adjustments. It's been the care and treatment of egos. In a season of surprises and just plain strangeness, nothing was as weird (and as wonderful) as Deron WIlliams' 35-point, seven-assist, seven-three pointer return to relevance Monday night.