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New Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni insists that he thinks his team can win now.

The supporting cast is unproven. Center Josh Boone was held out with an abnormal heartbeat and is waiting doctor’s clearance to play. His backup, Brook Lopez, is an athletic center who lacks bulk. One forward is Yi Jianlian, obtained in the Jefferson deal. A seven-footer from China, Yi is remarkably quick and athletic, but he makes up for that with a lack of assertiveness that makes him all but invisible on the court.

The key for the Nets is how interested Carter remains. On this day, he says he likes the youth movement. “I believe in this team,” he says. “I’ll continue to believe in this team.”

Everybody — coaches and players alike — say they’re not thinking about LeBron and 2010. You can believe them when they say that. Players are interested in right now, not two years down the road when they may be somewhere else. Coaches are interested in right now because if they’re not, in two years they can count on being somewhere else.

That’s for the front offices, and the management of both teams continues to set things up to make a pitch for LeBron — when the time comes.

They know it’s a long shot. The Nets were counting on a new arena in Brooklyn to lure King James. But the recent credit crunch and budget problems in New York City make it increasingly likely that instead of Brooklyn, the Nets will end up down the road in Newark, sharing the Prudential Center with the Devils of the NHL.

And the Knicks have to hope LeBron will take less money to play in New York with a team that may not be as good as the one he would be leaving.

Meanwhile, both teams have to sell seats. The Nets are doing it by making the game just part of a night’s family entertainment. Even in tough economic times, the Nets are an affordable treat: upper deck tickets start at $20 and the team is offering a two-for-one season-ticket package. At those prices, a fan can see a lot of good basketball, even if it’s provided by the visiting team — plus dancing girls, audience-participation contests, the fox that dresses like a wolf and no end of whistles, bells and flashing lights. Win or lose, they put on a show.

The Knicks will get a boost from D’Antoni’s presence. He’s the first real head coach they’ve had in years, and his run-and-gun style is fun to watch. But the Knicks also charge an arm and a leg to get in the building, and some of the Wall Street firms that used to buy big blocks of tickets don’t exist anymore. If the team goes south, the fans will, too. At those prices, they want more than a show; they want victories.

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Nathan Denette / AP

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