NBA

NETS’ GOAL: START FEELING AT HOME

To quote a sage from deep in the Nets’ past:

“There’s no place like away.”

Forgive the Nets for feeling what Mike Gminski once proclaimed. To them, home is not where the heart is or where they hang their hats. To them, home is where the losses have been. Discouraging losses. Five straight losses, a skid they seek to snap tonight against the Sixers. Coach Lawrence Frank is considering a lineup that brings Vince Carter off the bench in an attempt to right things.

“It’s just the combinations we have, especially in the second quarter,” said Frank, stressing he must keep “enough offense and enough defense just to balance and keeping guys fresh where they’re not fatigued.”

Frank said Carter would be fresher playing with the second unit in the second quarter after coming off the bench – and entering in the middle of the first quarter as opposed to starting the game and playing 15 consecutive minutes like normal. So he would start a lineup of Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, Richard Jefferson, Malik Allen and Jason Collins.

Whether Carter starts, comes off the bench (as he did for three games while strengthening his ankle – all victories – before a lineup juggle in a loss) or parachutes in during the third quarter, the Nets are anxious to reverse alarming, though familiar, trends. They are 7-8. For five straight years, their 15-game starts have stunk: 6-9 last season, 7-8 before that, 3-12 and 7-8.

They always managed to have nasty skids at home, too. This time, they bring a five-game home-losing streak to the table. Eight times in the Nets’ past, they have lost six straight at home. Twice, they have lost seven. So the Nets are in danger of tying their third worst home streak.

“You want to protect home,” said Carter, whose offense off the bench also could be used to combat another spiffy trend of falling behind by lots early. The Nets have trailed by at least 11 points in the first half of eight of their last 11 games. “You always want to take care of your business here, especially come playoff time. We’ll find a way.”

They better.

In those three games of the last 11 where they didn’t trail by double-digits in the first half, two were against Boston – and the Celtics won those games by 23 and 24 points. The other was the win in Seattle. In the first four games, (three at home), the Nets faced a 15-point first-half ditch against Toronto.

“We’re not the only team that does it, but all those squandered opportunities (tick) you off. . . . We could be 10-5,” Frank said.

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Nenad Krstic, shut down to improve conditioning and strengthen his legs to help his surgically repaired knee, said he should have waited longer before playing.

“I was not ready. But I get excited because I wanted to be back,” he said. “I need to use this time to get conditioning . . . to get my muscle, quad and hamstrings strong because every time I do really hard workout my knee swelled up.”

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Marcus Williams (broken right foot) said there’s a chance he will practice next week. “Last week, it was a lot worse,” Williams said. “This week with the new orthodics, it took a lot of stress off the outside of my foot so it’s feeling a lot better.” . . . Vince Carter, Sixth Man of the Year? “That would be great. Some stiff competition out there, though,” he said. . . . The Nets and Jersey Cares ask fans to donate gently used winter coats for the needy tonight.

fred.kerber@nypost.com