The Upset of the Year (hey, it's the Nets)

The Nets are better than their record. It's a fact borne out by their young talent (Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts), a proven point guard (Devin Harris) and their ability to even stay upright after their historically disastrous start. And for those doubters in the national media, it was confirmed on Saturday when New Jersey went into Boston and beat one of the NBA's elite teams, 104-96.

National and New England media figures scrambled to explain away the stunning upset. ESPN's Chris Broussard, who used the word 'bored' five times to describe the Celtics' play, wrote: "On the same day the Celtics hung a sign in their locker room aimed at inspiring the team to get its act together, Boston stumbled through an inexcusable 104-96 loss to the lowly Nets at the TD Garden." The Boston Globe's Julian Benbow mumbled: "You assumed the scent of the smelling salts would come at some point."

Broussard and Benbow have something of a point. The Celtics were obviously listless throughout and were without top scorer and team leader Paul Pierce. And even at full strength, this Boston team is nowhere near the caliber of the squad that won the NBA title in 2008.

But in their rush to condemn the Celtics, the media largely overlooked the real story: The Nets are a 20-win team in a six-win team's body.

Look at their play since the All-Star Break. New Jersey is 2-5 in those games, four of which came against teams currently at .500 or better. Of their five losses, only one was by more than 10 points, and if they were a more experience bunch they would have held onto early leads against the Heat and Wizards. This is a club on the rise, or at least a slight uptick.

The Nets may not have the nucleus of a future playoff team. But Lopez is a real talent, one of the best young centers in the game. And the Nets are well under the cap, giving them ammunition to go after the best free agent class in recent memory.

For all Rick Pitino's mockery, the Nets are not a permanent last-place team.

Oh, and one more thing: They will get to 10 wins this year. I guarantee it.