Dikembe Mutombo was confused. He did not consider himself a backup and was not pleased when Byron Scott seemed to be making him one.

Yesterday, Scott clarified himself.

“He is our starting center,” the Nets coach said before he and his team left for Atlanta, where they will face the Hawks tonight. “There will come a time, maybe with two games left or two games into the playoffs, when it happens.”

Mutombo had spoken freely of his displeasure of not getting enough minutes since returning from wrist surgery five games ago. His candor drew the attention of both Scott and team president Rod Thorn, who were disturbed by his selfish-sounding talk – particularly coming so close to the playoffs. Yet it wasn’t until yesterday that Scott sought out Mutombo, along with Thorn.

“I talked to both of them,” said Mutombo, who has averaged just 12 minutes per game in his five games back. “I was just frustrated and had to explain myself. I think I’m fine [in my role].”

Particularly after Scott reassured him that it was only a matter of time before he regained his spot in the starting five. Scott said that Mutombo would return to the lineup “probably” before the end of the regular season and that it was “inevitable” that he would get back there at some point during the postseason.

“I told him he had to be patient,” said Scott, whose team leads the Pistons by one game in the Eastern Conference standings. “When you miss four months, it doesn’t take a week to get back.”

While Scott added that he didn’t have a timetable for Mutombo’s return as a starter, he said his court time would continue to increase as the postseason draws near.

“I thought he played pretty well [against Toronto],” said Scott, who insisted Mutombo was not being reprimanded during the brief meeting, but merely to not try to rush his comeback. “He’s looked good in practice.”

Mutombo appeared relieved after having the meeting. “We were just working out our differences,” he said. “The team has always been more important [with me]. I never argued about that. I was more concerned with fitting myself into part of the organization because I’ve been out for a while.”

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Kenyon Martin and Lucious Harris, who both returned from injuries in Sunday’s win over Toronto, practiced again yesterday. Martin was kept away from contact, but Scott said he was “fine.”