On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings were dueling through a seventh game and an overtime session in a series that even in the preseason most thought would be the true championship series.
On the East Coast, the New Jersey Nets went about their business as if it were any other year, years when they had no more a part in the postseason than turning on their televisions and watching. Jason Kidd even skipped the television this time, heading across the parking lot to Giants Stadium to take in a concert.
And why not? In a season in which the Nets have turned all predictions upside down, why not just worry about yourself and let the chips fall where they may? It has worked beyond anyone’s expectations, including his own, all season long.
 Jason Kidd and the Nets undid years of futility in New Jersey by reaching NBA Finals 2002. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images) |
But the Nets have proven every one of those experts wrong, and with the chance to dismiss one more round of doubters, they were feeling very secure in their ability.
“I think the Western Conference was dominant this year in the sense that they had quite a few teams over 50 wins,” Kidd said. “We only have to play one of them. That’s the way you have to look at it. We don't have to play five or six of them. We have to play one and you have to play your best basketball against that one because the one representing the Western Conference is the one that's the best. We just have to go out there and play. The records are zero-zero.
“We’re going to be the underdogs, no matter how anybody looks at it, because everybody things the West is more dominant. They probably are, but the biggest thing is, you have to play it out on the court and we're just going to play it out.”
The Nets and Lakers split their two regular-season meetings, but the games provided little opportunity to glimpse into what might lie ahead. The Lakers won at home, 101-92, on March 5 in a game in which Kobe Bryant was suspended and Kenyon Martin was suspended for the Nets. Perhaps more telling was that Todd MacCulloch was out of action, leaving Shaquille O’Neal to have his way in the paint, scoring 40 points in 38 minutes.
The next time that the two met, on April 3 at Continental Airlines Arena, the Lakers were without O’Neal and MacCulloch scored 17 points as the Nets built a 15-point halftime lead and held on for a 94-92 win. But more than that win, the Nets' run through the postseason has convinced them that they are the best team in the league. The Lakers have what may be the best tandem the league has ever seen in O’Neal and Bryant, but the Nets might have the best player in the league this season in Kidd. And while the Lakers have experience, the Nets might have more balance with Van Horn, Martin and Kerry Kittles all playing well, and Lucious Harris, Aaron Williams and Richard Jefferson delivering off the bench.
“Well, I believe that we are,” said Keith Van Horn. “I believe we have to have the confidence that we're the best team. We're confident just like L.A. or Sacramento will have the confidence that they're the best. This isn't any time right now to believe you're inferior to anybody.
“I think, by winning the Eastern Conference, people are finally, even though it took a long time, it took getting this far to prove to them, proved that we're the best team in the East. Now our goal is to win it. I think you have to go in with that mindset. If you go into the mindset that we're just happy to be here, you get swept. You get beat, 4-1. We're confident in ourselves. We're confident in our abilities to go up against anybody in this league.”
 Kobe and Shaq overcame a very tough test in the Kings. (Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE/Getty Images) |
“We know right now that anything is possible. We know that we can win the Finals.”
In an odd twist, it was the Nets that breezed past the Boston Celtics in a dominating six-game performance in the Eastern Conference Finals, while this group of Lakers was tested for the first time after easily coasting through the league the last two years. So the defending champs enter the Finals with a good news-bad news scenario. They learned things that they never had to learn before about themselves and about winning. But the Lakers also were physically and emotionally drained at the end of this series.
“I think it was a gutcheck,” Kobe Bryant said. “Last year, we swept through the playoffs. To be tested like this right here, right now, and to respond, gives us a lot of confidence.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson clutched the trophy for winning the conference title in the locker room afterward, but looked forward to bigger games.
“Two teams played very good basketball,” Jackson said. “We appreciate this, but it’s not the one we're going for. We’re looking for the big one, the one that counts. We got the Western Conference championship and that gives us a leg up.”
And there it is. Another doubter, another expert waiting for the Nets to fold one more time. And that’s just what the Nets are hoping the Lakers will believe.
“I think we're playing the best,” Scott countered. “We've peaked at the right time. We've gotten better each series and obviously the biggest test is in the NBA Finals. So we'll see what happens.
“We’re on Cloud Nine right now. The one message today is we've got to come off that cloud and get back to work, get back to practice. This is what it's all about. This is what you play 82 games for. This is why you want the best record to get to this particular point. Now we have an opportunity to fill all our dreams and that’s to win an NBA championship.”
Steve Popper has spent the last five years following the Knicks and Nets for the New York Times, and has covered the NBA for more than 10 years.
