"It wasn't long ago - just a few months back, in fact - that the organization's prime directive was to examine whether two 7-footers can peacefully coexist, preferably by creating a formidable fellowship of power, length, and versatility that few other teams can match.

So one look at the Nets-Pistons box score Friday night might have led some persistent believers to conclude, "They could have something here after all," given that 68 combined points on 26-for-33 accuracy is the stuff of Bird-McHale or Duncan-Admiral.

Or, maybe Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlian just had a fluky night.

While most of the organization has abandoned the notion that this is their power tandem going forward, some holdouts still think that one astounding performance was a legitimate sign of progress.

But the two young bigs have started 40 games together this season - and victories are very few and far between - so Rod Thorn knows it's going to be hard to sell it again."