It would change the entire outlook of the coming N.B.A. season, deliver the finals from the land of the lopsided and perhaps even draw a few fans to Continental Arena. The return of the intimidating, sneering Alonzo Mourning is just what is needed by the Nets, the two-time runner-up to the league champion, and by the N.B.A., which could use a feel-good story or two.

But no one - not Mourning, not his doctors, not the Nets - will predict that Mourning will finish even the first month of the season, let alone return to dominance for 82 games. All they can do is hope that he stages a stirring comeback from the kidney disorder that nearly ended his career three years ago.

"Nobody can predict the future," said Gerald Appel, Mourning's doctor. "He's in partial remission. He's never been in complete remission. It's always been partial. At any point, his kidney disease could get bad. Alonzo and I have always had a deal that we will take this one month at a time, one day at a time. We won't look too far down the road.

"So when people say, 'Can he play?' I say: 'Well, he can play today. I can't tell you about next week.' "