NBA

Nets try to work out kinks in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — It has been a rough few days for the Nets, who gave up a 22-point second-half lead Monday in Brooklyn against the Timberwolves before getting blown out Wednesday in Miami by the defending champion Heat.

The slow start was not entirely unexpected, given the fact starting small forward Gerald Wallace has missed the past two games with a sprained left ankle and the Nets (1-2) still are trying to figure out how to make their many new parts fit together as they visit the Magic tonight.

One of those new pieces trying to figure out his role is Joe Johnson, the marquee addition in the Nets’ busy offseason. Johnson admitted he still is in the middle of a feeling-out process with his new teammates.

“I just have to pick my spots,” Johnson said after yesterday’s practice. “It’s not about how many shots I can get in a game. My main concern is how we gel as a team and our cohesiveness so that we can come together and be one quickly.

“It’s not about one individual or how my stats are … that’s not my concern.I’m concerned about us getting wins, and right now we need a win bad. So we’ll come with a sense of desperation [tonight], a sense of urgency, and try to get off this little slide we’ve had.”

Considering it’s just three games into a new season, it’s a bit surprising to hear the words desperation and urgency coming from anyone around the Nets. But Johnson has made it clear he expects this team to be a contender this season, volunteering the Nets will be better than the Knicks at his introductory press conference in July then following up by saying the Nets can contend with the Heat and the other top teams in the East during media day at the beginning of training camp.

Now, he wants to see that same level of confidence from the team as a group, whether it is going to face an elite team like the Heat or a rebuilding one like the Magic.

“We have to come out and play with confidence more than anything, and it’ll all fall into place,” Johnson said. “Out here on the basketball court, you have to have a certain swagger about yourself. When you’re playing against the Miamis, the Bostons, the Lakers, you can’t come out hoping and wishing.

“You have to come out knowing you can beat those teams, and that’s the type of attitude we have to have and the type of approach we have to come with in every game.”

Johnson is not the only one struggling to get acclimated. Point guard Deron Williams committed seven of the Nets’ 19 turnovers in the 103-73 loss to the Heat.

“We’re not making the right plays at times, the right passes, we’re not in the right spots,” he said. “So it’s hard to form chemistry and get things rolling when things are a little off.The timing is a little off, passes are a little off, so we’re all working to clean that up.”

But, after a couple of games to forget, the Nets will get a chance to show they have things headed in the right direction against the Magic.

“At the end of the day, this is basketball,” Johnson said. “The game is not that hard. So I think we are overthinking too much sometimes, and it’s causing turnovers and putting us in tough situations. So we have to get back to relaxing and playing ball.”

* Nets coach Avery Johnson said Wallace will miss his third straight game tonight. Johnson also said there’s a chance that Wallace, who didn’t practice yesterday, will work out this morning during the team’s shootaround.

Josh Childress, who also has been out with a sprained left ankle, practiced for the first time in a week, and the coach said Childress potentially could dress for the first time this season tonight.