No more private jets means more Nissans.

A few years back, the Nets were the toast of the East, the team expected to make it to the Finals each year, even if they would only win one game (or zero in some cases) once there.

They’ve since fallen apart, maybe because they got rid of this year’s Coach of the Year, maybe because they acquired Vince Carter, or maybe because they built their team around people who beat the hell out of others. Richard Jefferson, All Star forward, has been charged with assault.

New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson was arrested Wednesday on charges of assault for grabbing another man by the throat in a Minneapolis club earlier this year.

Jefferson was in town with the team on Jan. 27 when, according to a charge filed, he went to a club in the Graves Hotel where the victim was having a private birthday party in a roped-off section.

The documents say Jefferson entered the area and got angry when he was asked to leave. He is accused of grabbing the victim, shoving him to a bench and choking him with both hands.

I can understand a fight; in the heat of the moment, you get mad, you punch a guy, and hope to get the hell out of there before the police show up. But to get mad, shove a guy, then try to choke him with two hands? That shit’s just crazy. You can chalk this one up as another assist RJ caught from J-Kidd, only it wasn’t a woman, and her name wasn’t Joumana Kidd.

Mark Cuban may be getting a bit rash in some his thought process while actively pursuing an NBA Title. First, he traded Devin Harris — a good, young player who could play defense and offense with energy and sprite — for Jason Kidd, an old guy who hits his wife and isn’t very good anymore.

Now he’s decided it’s best to fire Avery Johnson.

Johnson leaves with an impressive résumé after three-plus seasons, but Mavs owner Mark Cuban couldn’t tolerate a bottom line of being 3-12 in the playoffs since blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA Finals.

The Mavericks followed that disappointment by the embarrassment of being ousted by Golden State in the opening round last season in one of the biggest upsets in league history. They were just dumped in five games by Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets. Dallas didn’t win a single road game against the Heat, Warriors or Hornets, an 0-9 skid that was too much to overcome.

Something that shouldn’t be overlooked is that 250 games into his career, Avery Johnson has a better coaching record than anyone in the history of the NBA. Maybe Coach Nelson would consider a return. . .

Dallas Mavericks 94, New Orleans Hornets 99: The Mavericks made a late push at the end of the game to try and salvage the season, but it was an oh-so-feeble attempt to end their imminent doom. Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists — 11 of which came in the first half alone — and David West led all Hornets with 25. Dallas exits in the first round for the second year in a row, and there’s speculation that Avery Johnson’s job may be on the line. I’d squash the speculation: If you’re looking for a finger to point, point it at the guy that pulled the trigger on the Jason Kidd trade. Wait. He’s the owner. Bye, Avery.

Philadelphia 76′ers 81, Detroit Pistons 98: Three games into the series, it looked as if Philly may actually steal one. Five games into the season, it doesn’t look like they stand much of a chance. Detroit manhandled Philadelphia, going up 12 at the half, 20 by the third, and then coasted to victory through the fourth. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 21 points, followed by Rip Hamilton (20), Rasheed Wallace (19), and Tayshaun Prince (17). Detroit now has a 3-2 lead heading back to Philadelphia.

Utah Jazz 69, Houston Rockets 95: It’s odd the Jazz swept the first two games at home, went back to Utah, where they had a 37-4 record through the regular season, are playing Tracy McGrady — who’s known for choking it up in the first round — and this thing is still going on. Not only going on, but Houston is beating the ever living hell out of them. Utah was 36 percent from the field and 22 percent from beyond the arch. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 19 points on 8-18 shooting. T-Mac led the Rockets with 29 points. The series is 3-2, and resumes Thursday night in Utah.

Phoenix Suns 87, San Antonio Spurs 92: They said it would be one of the best first round series ever, and I agreed. Problem is, it wasn’t. The Spurs won the series 4-1 last night, on the back of two solid performances by Tony Parker (31 points), and Tim Duncan (29 points and 17 rebounds). Shaq finished with 13 points and nine boards in only 29 minutes of play, posing the question: Why the hell did they trade for a guy that can’t run the court for more than 29 minutes? Good call, Steve Kerr, it’s nice to see you’re still helping the Spurs win Championships.

How’d that trade workout, anyway? Sorry, Cuban, but you were probably better off keeping Devin Harris. He was a better defender, was quicker, and based on Kidd’s recent stats, was a better point guard. I don’t know Kidd’s final line before he was ejected from this one, but it wasn’t good, like most of his other playoff performances.

Dallas Mavericks 103, New Orleans Hornets 127: At this rate, the last thing the Mavs have to worry about is choking like they did last year. The Hornets have absolutely owned them, and last night was no different. Chris Paul, who’s a really, really good player, isn’t as good of a player as the Mavs make him out to be. He scored 32 points and had 17 assists, making Jason Kidd look like an old man every time he tried to guard him. I bet the Mavs are wishing they had a certain Devin Harris right now. The seven points and eight assists Kidd had aren’t exactly creating a joyous feeling in Dallas.

Toronto Raptors 103, Orlando Magic 104: It was a good game, but since the Spurs/Suns game had already started, I missed the final 6:00. Why TNT wouldn’t flash over to a game that’s won on a final shot is beyond me, but such if Ted Turner’s Empire. Dwight Howard had another sick performance for Orlando, getting 29 points and grabbing 20 boards. I’m a big Chris Bosh fan — he went to Georgia Tech, after all — but he’s got to start doing something defensively against Dwight, or the Magic are going to eat them alive in this series.

Phoenix Suns 96, San Antonio Spurs 102: I watched the first half of this game, a half that seemed to feature a lot of Amare Stoudemire and a little bit of Tony Parker, but just enough Tony Parker to keep the Spurs floating. I didn’t watch the second half, but based on the box score, the Suns went a little flat. They had only 11 points in the third quarter, ultimately leading to a loss, putting them down 2-0 on the series. The Spurs’ Tony Parker finished with 32 points, and Manu Ginobli showed why he’s this year’s Sixth Man of the Year, chipping in with 29. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with a 33 point effort.

Phoenix Suns 115, San Antonio Spurs 117: I didn’t realize this game was on until there was about 0:15 left in regulation. I turned it on just in time to see Phoenix miss a potential game winning shot, and then watched one of the better overtime sessions I’ve ever seen. Tim Duncan finished the game with 40 points and 15 rebounds, but the remarkable stat for him was his three-point shot with three seconds left to tie the game. Manu Ginobli drove to the basket, was double teamed, whipped it out to Duncan, standing all by himself, and there was a hush as he shot it — the crowd, myself, everyone watching on TV, couldn’t quite believe it was Duncan who chucked it up. He made the shot, sent it to a second overtime, where Phoenix had a chance to tie or win it at the end, but the shot didn’t go down. My prediction is the winner of this series will win the Finals, and after a game like this, you have to wonder if Phoenix can rebound and get back in the series.

Washington Wizards 86, Cleveland Cavaliers 86: You’d think a team would be able to stop Cleveland, given that all they’ve got is LeBron James, but Washington hasn’t quite figured that out in the three straight years they’ve played the Cavs in the opening round. LeBron James had 32 points, backing up some of the talk that Cleveland’s had over the last couple of days with Washington, a team quickly turning into a rival. Gilbert Arenas did not start but finished the game with 24 points, leading all Washington scorers.

Dallas Mavericks 92, New Orleans Hornets 104: The Mavs had a 12 point lead at halftime, looking completely dominant for two quarters, but came out flat in the third and never found that first half rhythm again. Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs, but it wasn’t enough to match the effort of Chris Paul, who had 35 points and 10 assists, seemingly blowing by Jason Kidd whenever he wanted. When it’s all said and done, and the Mavs are stuck with Kidd and his massive contract for another two years, this will be considered one of the worst trades in the history of the NBA. Devin George, was a good defensive player and spark off the bench, probably would’ve held Paul under 35 points. Kidd finished the game with 11 points and nine assists, but also had four costly turnovers.

Utah Jazz 93, Houston Rockets 82: If Houston wants to win this series, it really, really needs to win the home games. Utah is rough on the road, unstoppable in Utah, and managed to win the first one held in Houston. Tracy McGrady had 20 points on 7-21 shooting, and Shane Battier led the team with 22. Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams combined for 61 points for the Jazz.

Denver Nuggets 114, Golden State Warriors 105: When you play the Nuggets, you can pretty much assure yourself of scoring in triple digits. Unfortunately, you can also assure they’re going to score in triple digits. It was the Nuggets’ 20th game in a row scoring 100 points or more, and of those twenty games only twice did they hold their opponent under 100: They held the Spurs to 96, and the Clippers to 99. Allen Iverson, JR Smith, and Carmelo Anthony all combined for 82 points for the Nuggets. With the loss, Golden State allowed Dallas to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Utah Jazz 94, Dallas Mavericks 97: The Mavs were scared there for a minute, but with the win and the loss of the Warriors, Dallas has stamped its way into the playoffs, and will probably be the seven seed. Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and had hte game winning three, and Jason Terry chipped in with 21 points. I said it before the trade, I said it after the trade, and I say it now: Jason Kidd was a rip off. He scored seven points and had seven assists, and you have to start wondering: Was he partially responsible for the Nets slide? VC and Richard Jefferson can score, and at some point, we just have to face facts — maybe Jason Kidd isn’t very good anymore.

Los Angeles Lakers 106, Los Angeles Clipppers 78: There was a time where it was thought the Clippers were on their way up. That was two years ago. What a difference time can make.

Dallas Mavericks 105, Phoenix Suns 98: The Suns would have to do a lot to blow their lead and miss the playoffs, but if such an event did occur there would be a lot of people pointing to this game as the reason they’re not in. The Suns held a 12 point lead heading into the fourth, but only managed nine points the entire quarter, therein losing the game. Even in victory, I’ll hate on Jason Kidd, and how little he contributes to this team: In 38 minutes of action, he had eight points and seven assists.

Golden State Warriors 96, New Orleans Hornets 108: Golden State is doing their best to survive and push their way into the playoffs, but the gas tank is on E, and the car is starting to sputter. Monta Ellis had 35 points, but Baron Davis only came up with 17 and Stephen Jackson fell flat with only six points on 3/11 shooting. New Orleans holds a 1 1/2 game lead over the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio Spurs 72, Portland Trail Blazers 65: Tim Duncan provided most of the offense with 27 points, and the rest of the Spurs decided they’d play lights out defense and hold their opponent under 70. Brandon Roy led all Blazers players with 18 points.

Denver Nuggets 147, Seattle Seahawks 151: Like I said about Phoenix: If Denver doesn’t make the playoffs, this is the game they’ll point to. Kevin Durant dropped 37 points, had nine rebounds and eight assists, and Denver dropped one to the second-worst team in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson combined for 64 points for the Nuggets.

With no football games, it’s hard to gamble, so, thankfully, we can throw our money away on NBA games that can really go either way. But it’s entertaining, right? And, in short, that’s the main reason we gamble. We don’t do it to win or lose — we do it because it takes an otherwise boring chunk of the night and becomes very, very entertaining, even if the entertainment is accompanied with many hours of grief afterwards. Enjoy my picks. I’m the best.

Last Night: 2-1
On the Season: 43-41-1

Tonight’s Games:

Charlotte Bobcats (+11) @ Toronto Raptors: Picking Charlotte doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that I’m picking a winner. But the Raptors have struggled, and 11 points seems a bit high. Raptors win, ‘Cats cover.

Philadelphia 76′ers (+2) @ Atlanta Hawks: I hope the Hawks win. I always do when I make these picks. But they’ve beaten up on bad teams, they’ve won five straight, and when you’re an Atlanta fan, you know five straight is about three too many. The streak ends. Points are nice, but Sixers in an upset.

New York Knicks @ New Orleans Hornets (-15.5): It’s been a while since I’ve seen a spread this high and taken it. But we’ve all seen the Knicks, which should be enough said.

New Jersey Nets (+10) @ Detroit Pistons: Take the points.

Dallas Mavericks (+6) @ LA Lakers: Every time these two teams play, the game is close. Look for another OT thriller. Mavs win.