NBA

Playoffs ‘do-able’ for Nets

Do-able, yes. Probable, no.

The Nets have won four straight games, the last two without Deron Williams who has returned from his son’s birth and yesterday practiced all out, full contact. They are playing as well, as confident as they have in several seasons.

They have 18 games left and stand six games removed from the final playoffs spot, of which they dream. They start the last 18 against powerful Boston tonight when they seek their first five-game win streak since Dec. 28-Jan. 5 of 2007-08. On paper, they have a shot. On the court, where it kind of matters a tad more, they realistically do not.

“It’s definitely do-able,” Williams said after practice. “It’s going to take a lot of wins. We got a lot of tough opponents. Stranger things have happened.”

Yes, stranger things have happened. Legend says the Nets even make a good first-round draft pick once upon a June night.

So do-able yes, probable no, even playing in the East — if they resided in the West, elimination would likely come this week. The Nets (21-43) lack the time and games to pull off a rally for the ages, even in the East. Plus, they have not one team to catch. They must catch and pass four: Charlotte (28-38) holds the eighth spot but Indiana, Milwaukee and Detroit also are ahead.

So really, the last 18 will be about the continued improvement, the continued development coach Avery Johnson has espoused since before Day 1. And he sees the Nets with a “positive energy” these days, despite being headed for a fourth straight playoffs-free postseason.

“It’s an excitement in terms of all the things that we’ve been preaching throughout the year — if you do this you will have a chance to have one more point than your opponents,” Johnson said. “If we get our guards in and get long rebounds, if we get back in transition, if you make the extra pass, if our power players play like power players when a power play is run for them, then something good’s going to happen.”

There’s just an awful lot of good that must happen in too short a time from here. The Nets still have two games with the Bulls, a back-to-back road game set at Orlando and Atlanta, two games with the Knicks, and single meetings with Miami and Boston. Forget the schedule for other teams: The Nets play 10 teams who, as of today, are bound for the playoffs.

But Williams is used to the playoffs and is not ceding anything.

“Hopefully, it rubs off on everybody. We’ve got some guys that have been on winning teams — Sasha [Vujacic] and Jordan [Farmar] have won championships,” said Williams, who said only his wind was affected by practice. “Those guys understand what it takes to win and win at a high level. Hopefully, I can bring that too. I haven’t won a championship, but I’ve been to the Western Conference finals and been to the playoffs the last four years. Hopefully, we can get that instilled in other guys and it will help turn things around for us.”

fred.kerber@nypost.com