Todd MacCulloch intends to renew acquaintances with his former mentor and teammate in Philadelphia for a half-season, Dikembe Mutombo, when the Sixers invade the Meadowlands tonight. MacCulloch will exchange pleasantries and smile blankly. Why?

“I won’t understand him. My French isn’t good enough for him,” MacCulloch deadpanned.

So MacCulloch, and the Nets, merely hope he needs no interpretation about his game on the court. Mutombo’s backup last year, MacCulloch journeyed up the Turnpike to fill the glaring void in the middle of the Nets lineup. So far, so good.

“I think I said [I expected] 10 points and seven boards, didn’t I?” asked coach Byron Scott before the Nets played their first huge “statement” game of the weekend, at home against the Knicks last night.

“So we’re not surprised by Todd. We knew Todd was a guy who could play in this league.”

MacCulloch in the first seven games shot a team-best .537 from the floor (true, his range has been about eight inches) while averaging 10.7 points and 8.0 rebounds. He has established a new career best with 29 points along the way, and last night figured to be a major factor as the Knicks again were expected to be without center Marcus Camby.

MacCulloch has given the Nets a middle presence. He’s not Mutombo swatting away everything in the paint. But MacCulloch has proved an effective obstacle, one who has blocked 1.86 shots while altering several other attempts a night.

Jason Kidd has been the main reason for the Nets’ early-season success, but MacCulloch and the supporting starting cast have helped propel them to their best start in team history, 6-1. MacCulloch sees some similarities to Philadelphia last year, when the Sixers also broke fast and gave themselves a season-long cushion.

“That really helped that team last year, getting off to the start. When the injuries started to come, we were able to weather some of those storms. The reason we had that cushion and stayed in first place was because of our huge start,” MacCulloch said. “If we can break out to a similar lead this year, that’s really going to help us if we do get some injuries or we’re on a tough West Coast trip.”

Like the one starting Monday in Denver.

“This team believes we haven’t run out of wins. Every game you go in with the opportunity to win,” MacCulloch continued. “I don’t think there’s any flip of the coin. We’ve got a chance to win every game.”

That was not a voice from the Twilight Zone. That was a voice from New Jersey. Honest.