Reality TV producers missed a good prospect this season – following the many twists and turns of the New Jersey Nets’ 2004-05 campaign would have captured more drama than most 22-episode shows.

Following an off-season fire sale, the team looked like a textbook case of first year rebuilding. But when Jason Kidd made his first appearance of the season and the trade market for his skills seemed soft, it looked like the team might try to make a late charge in a weak division. The acquisition of Vince Carter and Kidd’s implicit retraction of his demand to be traded solidified this notion. Then Richard Jefferson was lost for the season on January 11, and most observers, myself included, wrote them off.

Oops. Since losing their leading scorer, the Nets have played their best ball of the year. Despite being thin in the paint, the Nets have won nine of their last 15 games; contrast that with their 12-21 record before RJ went down.

With Carter on fire – he put together back-to-back 40-point outings this week – the explanation seems simple: The player formerly known as Air Canada has rescued the Nets. This is partially true, but Carter’s hot streak nearly coincides with Kidd’s game coming back to full speed. Less obviously, much of the Nets’ improvement owes to their stellar team defense.

That’s not to discount Carter’s value. When he first arrived from Toronto, he was content to make the most of the secondary role he was cast in – during the nine games playing alongside Jefferson, Carter averaged 21.6 points while shooting an impressive 48.9%. Since January 11, though, he has become the primary option on offense, a role he was accustomed to with the Raptors.

Carter has responded to the added responsibility by averaging 28.3 ppg on 48.8% shooting, while draining 3-pointers at a 43.5% rate. Nor are his contributions limited to shooting; he has added 6.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Most encouragingly for the Nets, Carter has regained his long-lost appetite for attacking the rim.

Once a highlight-clip dunkster, Carter gradually became more of a perimeter jump shooter after his spectacular 2000-01 season. This was reflected in his declining free-throw attempts per game, which dipped from 6.7 in his breakout campaign to 3.6 during 20 lackluster games in Toronto this season. Carter improved to 4.9 attempts per game after arriving in New Jersey, but in RJ’s absence, he’s resumed driving with reckless abandon, as illustrated by his 6.2 free throw attempts a game.

While it’s unlikely that Jefferson was an impediment to Carter, the timing of his rise does require some examination. The most plausible explanation is that Carter spent his first three weeks adjusting to the Nets’ motion offense, which differs substantially from what he experienced in Toronto. Additionally, Jefferson’s injury allowed him to flourish in the new system by assuming a primary role.

Of course, it can’t hurt a high-flying scorer like Carter to play alongside Kidd, who spent the month of January re-establishing his place among the game’s elite point guards. After starting the season on the injured list, he returned to action on December 6 and the rust was obvious. Kidd was kept on a tight minutes count, his shot was slow to return, and many observers were wondering if he had entered his decline phase at the age of 31.

Since the calendar changed, though, Kidd has returned to his All-Star form. He averaged 15.9 points, 8.0 assists, and 7.3 boards per game in January, and he’s burning it up with 21.3 ppg, 10.8 apg, and 8.0 rpg in four February games. Evidently Kidd simply needed December as a preseason – he notched his first triple-double of the year in the last game that Carter and Jefferson shared the floor.

Yet the key to the Nets’ success in 2005, as in past years, is defense. The superb play of Kidd and Carter reinforces one of the game’s most enduring misconceptions – that the Nets are a solid offensive team. They’re not.

Even during their consecutive runs to the Finals in 2001-02 and 2002-03, the Nets ranked 18th and 20th in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency, which tallies points per 100 possessions. So far this year, they rank 28th. At the other end of the floor, they were second and first, respectively, in Defensive Efficiency during the Finals years. This year, despite losing key defenders such as Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin, they rank ninth.

The Nets’ current defensive prowess owes much to the out-of-the-box thinking of head coach Lawrence Frank. This has become especially apparent since the Nets dealt away most of their size to obtain Carter.

During Saturday’s 107-85 win over Detroit, for example, both of the Nets’ primary big men, Nenad Krstic and Jason Collins, got into foul trouble early in the second half. Rather than reach deeper into the bench for newcomer Elden Campbell, Frank opted to go small, playing a lineup of four guards and journeyman power forward Jabari Smith.

The five proceeded to shut down the defending champs with relentless perimeter defense. Over an 11-minute span in the third and fourth quarters, the Nets limited Detroit to no baskets and seven free throws; the only open look, a short jumper by Rasheed Wallace, was blocked by Carter. Employing similar tactics Monday night against Philadelphia, the Nets’ defense held the Sixers to two baskets and three free throws while outscoring them 25-7 in the final five minutes of regulation and the overtime period.

This impressive run may well be the peak for the Nets this year, as they face an imposing schedule up ahead. Tonight’s game against the Lakers begins a stretch of five straight against Western Conference opponents. Given their slow start, it would take a fold job from both Philadelphia and Boston for the Nets to snatch the division title.

Nevertheless, the Nets have managed to establish themselves as potential contenders for the Eastern Conference title next season. Not bad for a team that began the year with a long-term rebuilding plan.