Nets Rising in the NBA Eastern Conference

All of a sudden, the Miami Heat are looking behind their backs, seeing the streaking New Jersey Nets.

Yes, all of a sudden, the New Jersey Nets found themselves in an astounding 12-game winning streak. All of a sudden, the Miami Heat are thinking that the Nets could very well overtake them from that no.2 seed in the East playoffs, something they literally ''owned'' since last season.

''Right now they're playing the best basketball of anybody in the NBA, there's no doubt,'' said Miami Heat head coach, Pat Riley.

New Jersey's 12-game winning streak is this year's longest winning streak of the NBA. Yes, even better than all those streaks Detroit came up with this year. If this trend continues, it could be a matter of time before the New Jersey Nets find themselves next to the defending Eastern Conference champions, Detroit Pistons.

New Jersey beat the Heat, 90-78, in a game that marked the return of Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal poured in 18 points while Dwyane Wade was in his usual self, dropping 32 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Miami cause.

However, none of them came up with an answer for New Jersey's no.15.

Vince Carter was simply unstoppable, scoring a game-high 43 points, solidifying that indeed, Vinsanity has arrived from the other side of the border (Toronto) and it's there to lead the Nets to the promised land.

To say that Vince Carter was unstoppable against the Heat, could very well be an understatement.

''For him, everybody talked about his past, being soft, or a guy who doesn't like to compete when it gets tough, and he's shown us everything but that. He's been right there when it starts to get tough, and he wants the shot, or he wants to play defense,'' Jason Kidd said of the revitalized Vince Carter.

When New Jersey first came up with their longest winning streak in franchise history (14 wins), it was Lawrence Frank's first year as Nets head coach, taking over from Byron Scott in the middle of the season. More importantly, they didn't have no.15 then as Vince Carter was having his dog-days in Toronto.

Now the New Jersey Nets have a chance in equaling that achievement. More importantly, they have a chance in surpassing just that, and grab the no.2 seed away from the Miami Heat in the process.

Bodog has the odds on who will become the beast in the East this season. Can the New Jersey Nets surpass the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference? The NBA Playoffs is coming, log on and check out Bodog for odds on this year's playoff battles.