NEW YORK -- Each season around this time extremist fans and militant members of the media corroborate it's never too early to overreact.

One shrill loss by the New Jersey Nets and already one local columnist theorizes Vince Carter's contract will be easier to move than Richardson Jefferson's.

Dragged down in Boston on opening night by a strong overtime undertow and one Garden regular straight away second guessed Larry Brown's continued use of Stephon Marbury, who missed seven of 12 free throws.