Liz Robbins of the New York Times reports that The Nets are in a bit of a tail spin. They have lost the first two games of their four-game west coast trip and now Dikembe Mutombo has injured the wrist of his shooting hand.

The injury was suffered in the third quarter of the Nets' 126-118 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. X-rays were negative, but he has been listed as questionable for Saturday?s game against the Trail Blazers. On Friday Nets' president, Rod Thorn, said: "It's real sore today. As to whether he can play tomorrow, we'll just have to see."

Mutombo injured the wrist with six minutes to play in the third quarter when, driving to the basket, the Clippers' Eric Piatkowski slapped him and the ball. On the following defensive sequence, Mutombo motioned for Scott to take him out. He went to the locker room and had the wrist taped. Even though Mutombo played 11 minutes in the fourth quarter and all of the overtime period with the injury, he was in obvious pain afterward.  

With the loss, the Nets dropped to 10-6 and are losing any positive momentum they have built up this early in the season. "It's the same situation we had last year with games on the West Coast and we lost four in a row," Coach Byron Scott said. "We're headed that way now."

In an almost-perfect game Thursday night Clippers guard Andre Miller felt his game-tying three pointer with 4.9 seconds left against the New Jersey Nets was off.  Fortunately for him and his teammates he was wrong.

Miller finished the game with 37 points and 16 assists, totals which equalled his career high and set his season high respectively, as the Clippers were able to pip the Nets 126-118 in overtime.  His strong game overcame another All-NBA statline from the dangerous Jason Kidd, who finished with 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

"When it left my hand, I thought it was going to go past the rim,'' Miller said of his big 3-pointer.  "Man, he was amazing, hitting shot after shot,'' added teammate Elton Brand.

"We played well, we finished off the game the way we needed to,'' added Miller. "Tonight was a night we were able to get to the basket and make plays. I was able to get guys involved in key situations and they were able to knock down shots."

Liz Robbins of the New York Times reports that Dikembe Mutombo doesn?t like his stat line this season. He sees that his minutes and his production are way down from his career averages and he?s worried. "I realized I'm not where I should be," he said.

He?s averaging 24.9 minutes with the Nets this season compared to a career average of 36.3 minutes. "I don't know if I'm happy with it," he said. "Or if I'm just trying to accept it. It's becoming a situation where I'm trying to see my way through ? can I keep dealing with it or should I see it changing?"

Mutombo asked coach Byron Scott for more minutes on Monday. Scott told him the same thing he?s been saying all season. He wants to limit Mutombo?s minutes during the season and keep him fresh for the playoffs. The reason why his minutes are so low is because he still doesn?t know the offense.

"I told him exactly what I told him months ago, that it's going to be between 25 and 30," Scott said. "I told him that as the season goes along and he gets a little more familiarized with what he's doing on the offensive end, then his minutes go up.

"But he has to know what we're doing out there every single time. I can't have some of the breakdowns that we have sometimes on the offensive end. So once he gets it, the minutes will go up to 29, 30, 31 minutes. I've got to do what's best for the team."

Questioning Mutombo?s offense is one thing, but Scott also questions his rebounding ability. "I still think he could get more rebounds," Scott said. "Although he'll probably say it's because he hasn't played enough."

The Nets' president, Rod Thorn, supports Scott's allocation of minutes and credits Mutombo's aggressive tone-setting defense in the past three games. (He had three blocks in the last game, a victory, against Minnesota.) "If he plays like that, he'll probably get more playing time," Thorn said.

After a hiatus of about a month, Chris Childs has apparently dropped enough pounds to rejoin the New Jersey Nets.

Ohm Youngmisuk of the New York Daily News reports: Nets president Rod Thorn says Chris Childs, who is suspended indefinitely for being overweight, could return to the team perhaps as early as Monday.

Childs has been working out and trying to lose weight at the Duke Diet and Fitness center.

It was originally thought that Childs would be back this week.

Ohm Youngmisuk of the New York Daily News reports: Yet another player has commited to playing on the '04 Olympic team.

Jason Kidd said yesterday he is committed to joining Team USA for the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament next summer and the 2004 Olympic squad - if USA qualifies. Kidd originally was on the World Championship squad before pulling out with a groin injury. That team finished sixth in Indianapolis in August, losing three times. It was the first time a USA team comprised of NBA stars has lost in international competition. USA coach George Karl said the team would have won with Kidd.

"After the disaster that we had last year, you want to be the team that restarts the streak and also lets the world know we still are the best," Kidd said yesterday.

Kidd joins Ray Allen, Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady as NBA stars who have already given a commitment to USA Basketball. Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett could follow. Some stars volunteered; Kidd, like others, was asked and he immediately accepted.

Chris Tomasson writes about the Nuggets 99-79 loss to the defending Eastern conference champion New Jersey Nets.  The game wasn't even as close as the score indicates.  The Nets did a little showboating in the 3rd period...

RICHARD SANDOMIR of the New York Times reports that the New Jersey Nets are a big hit on the court?but not in the stands. The Nets had the fifth-best record in the league as of Saturday, but their attendance is third-worst.

Part of the problem is history. The Nets have historically been a losing franchise. Combine that with the fact that they are always playing in the Knicks? shadow and you have a recipe for low attendance numbers.  

"The Nets have been the stepchild to the Knicks for a long time," said Dean Bonham, a sports consultant, who once ran the Denver Nuggets. "Jason Kidd is helping them remove the stepchild tag, but it doesn't happen overnight."

Bonham explained that teams like the Knicks, Celtics, Lakers and Pistons are immune to long-term fan desertions because of their great fan base. A suddenly successful team like the Nets, without the luxury of a winning tradition, has a much harder time building that fan base.

Other factors have contributed to the low attendance numbers for the Nets. High ticket prices, football season and a sagging economy have all helped to hold numbers down. "Anyone who didn't mention the economy in this environment would be wrong," said Lou Lamoriello, the chief executive of the Nets. "It's everywhere, not just here. All you have to do is look at Wall Street."

While the Nets have good season ticket numbers, the walk-up sales are weak. A final factor could be the lack of Nets games on television.

Nets games are broadcast on the YES Network, but YES is not included in Cablevision?s package. "In the past," Lamoriello said, "there was a philosophy that said if you televise all home games, it takes away from home attendance, and another that said if you don't televise, it takes away from attendance. I don't feel there's been a lack of exposure from the public being aware of the type of team we have."

The Nuggets are in New Jersey to take on the Nets.  It's on Fox Sports if you care to check it out.

Don Burke of the Newark Star Ledger reports that Dikembe Mutombo know he has to step up his game. The bulls were able to nullify his effectiveness with their superior athleticism. Mutombo didn?t play the final quarter for the Nets.

While coach Byron Scott said that the matchups dictated Mutombo?s playing time, the fact remains that if the 7-2 center were doing what he was brought in to do, he would not have watched the final quarter of the game from the bench.

The Nets eventually lost to the Bulls. Mutombo isn?t the sole reason for the loss, but he didn?t do much to prevent the loss in his 23 minutes on the floor. He realizes his ineffectiveness was a factor in the defeat.

"I think I just didn't play the way I wanted to," Mutombo said yesterday. "I feel a little bit disappointed in myself the way I played. For some reason, I just don't know how come, I couldn't get into the game. Watching the game, watching the film, today was tough. There were a lot of defensive errors that we made as a team and I wish I could have done a better job with that. ... As a team, we just didn't talk defensively. There was no communication at all."

He didn?t sit on the bench and fume like some NBA stars would. He recognizes a bad game when he has one. "That was the coach's decision," Mutombo said. "I'm not sitting down night after night and trying to complain about minutes. I think I'll leave that to Byron Scott to decide what he wants to do."

Scott didn?t say he?s been disappointed in Mutombo?s performance thus far (9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds so far this season) but he did say there is room for improvement. "I think we can get a little bit more," he said. "His familiarity with the offense has to be better because there are times when he's still thinking (about what he's supposed to do). ... Now, after watching for about seven games, I can really start to expect a little bit more from him, put a little bit of pressure on him to be more offensive-minded, especially on the low post."