EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Nets spilled out of a conference room early Tuesday afternoon, many of them wearing T-shirts and jeans, and most were smiling as they prepared to head to the airport, where a chartered flight to Atlanta awaited.
Deron Williams stopped on his way out and eased into a chair amid a group of reporters. Asked what the players had observed while reviewing game footage from their series-tying win Monday, he jokingly said they had not watched film at all; they had merely sat around and shot the breeze.
It was silly banter and it got a laugh, but it reflected the mood around the Nets on the eve of Game 5 against the top-seeded Hawks.