Not so, according to Frank.

"Too many things get blown out of proportion," Frank said. "We had never heard anyone question his work ethic. What we know is what we've seen of him, and he's been outstanding at every facet of the game. He works at his game, he's an unbelievable teammate, takes guys under his wing. He's been a star in this league a long time, but he's just such a quality person."

Fittingly, if the Nets beat Atlanta on Tuesday night they can tie the club record with a win Thursday against Charlotte, the team that might have started them on their upward path.

After that, it remains to be seen whether the Nets can translate their late-season momentum into a deep run in the playoffs. It is tempting to predict just that when it is considered that they have beaten Miami, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix in their 12-game streak.

"I don't want to read too much into it. I've been on both sides," Jefferson said, "having a lot of success in the regular season and struggling in the playoffs, and struggling in the regular season and having a lot of success in the playoffs. In the playoffs, everybody has the same amount of rest and is on the same time frame, so things change a little bit."