SACRAMENTO – Confidence can work miracles. Look at Keith Van Horn. He is playing confidently, aggressively, assertively. At both ends. So they’re talking not only about Van Horn’s offense. And his defense. In a positive way. Honest.

Van Horn is calling for the ball, setting up low and looking for opportunities far more than in the past. How much did he do that – demand the ball – last year? “No comment,” he said, smiling. Confidence works both ways, you know. He didn’t have the confidence to call; teammates didn’t have the confidence to deliver.

At the other end, Van Horn and concerted defensive effort have gone together in the past as frequently as Van Gogh and raucous slapstick comedy.

“It’s something I always heard, but it’s something I’ve always worked on,” said Van Horn. “As a team and as individuals, we’re looking to step up our efforts, so we’ve done a better job helping each other. When you play better team defense, everyone looks better individually.”

So Van Horn is employing his 6-10 length inside and giving honest effort with encouraging results. It’s no longer: score 18, yield 25. Byron Scott virtually forced him into a defensive mode, yanking him for endgames and going with the defense-minded Richard Jefferson.

Van Horn got a reprieve in Utah. That pumped up his confidence and it translated into a game-winning overtime shot against the Jazz and a 34-point night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

“I thought what got Keith involved [against the Clips] was he did a good job on Elton Brand … and our guys came from the weak side and gave us good help and that got his offense going,” said Scott. “I’m a firm believer if you come out with a defensive mindset, good things are going to happen on the other end of the court.”

Even look at Van Horn’s blocks: He has 10 in 12 games, five of those coming in the two games prior to last night’s meeting with the Kings here. Last season, playing in only 49 games, he had 20 total.

“Twenty? That’s all? Wow, that stinks,” he said.

“Each day, he’s getting better and better,” said point guard Jason Kidd. “The thing I like about Keith is not the offensive side, but the defensive side. He’s getting rebounds and he’s also taking the challenge of the power forward.”

Naturally, when the Nets traded for Van Horn, the No. 2 overall pick in 1997, they did it with potential offensive production primarily in mind. And they’ve got points in the past, but in the early stages this season – which has featured the best start ever by an NBA Net team – they’re getting more from Van Horn, who looks confident and says he feels confident on the floor.

“I feel great out there. I feel good about myself, I feel good about the direction of the team. That makes me step on the court with a lot more confidence,” said Van Horn, who brought averages of 17.4 (team high) points and 7.4 rebounds into last night. “I haven’t played great offensively this year. We have good distribution of points because of how our offense flows and the way [Kidd] gets everybody involved. I want to improve that, but I’ve been very happy with the way the team is playing.”

Winning does that.

“Keith’s got a lot of confidence,” Kidd said. “When a guy asks for the ball, as a point guard you’ve got to call his number. You have to ride him until he’s tired.”