INDIANAPOLIS, April 24 - It has long been said Jason Kidd is the kind of player who can dominate a game without scoring.

Does that mean he is less of a force when he is scoring?

The results from the first two games of the Pacers' first-round playoff series with New Jersey support the theorem, though the evidence is hardly conclusive.

In Game 1, Kidd took 23 shots - seven more than any of his teammates - and scored 26 points, but the Pacers won, 89-83, as the Nets' point guard missed eight of his final 10 shots.

In Game 2, Kidd took 13 shots - third-most on the team - and the Nets won easily, 95-79. Of course, Kidd also scored a team-high 20 points, going 8-of-10 from the line.

Kidd

The idea is that the more Kidd is shooting, the more he is using the lone weakness in his game, and the less he is going to his strength - creating opportunities for his teammates. He shot .391 during the regular season overall and .321 from the arc; his career marks are .403 and .322. Specifically, the Pacers want to encourage Kidd to shoot jump shots - and from as far away as possible.

"Of course," said backup point guard Kevin Ollie. "He's a great penetrator, a great finisher and once he gets in the paint it seems like he's got three or four eyes the way he can find people underneath the basket. You definitely want him shooting outside but he's been making his shots in stretches, so hopefully he'll get to Indiana and miss some shots and give us the opportunity to get out and fast-break a little bit."

The teams resume the series on Friday night in Conseco Fieldhouse, with Kidd the focal point of the Pacers' defensive effort. He has averaged 23.0 points, 9.0 assists, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals thus far. He also has shot well, going 17-of-36 from the field (.472), though most of that damage has been done from inside the defense, rather than outside. Kidd has missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, but has hit 59 percent of his 2-pointers.

Ollie

"We can get a little more pressure on him," said Ollie. "It's tough to try to contain a guard like that who's always going and pushing the ball up the court. Every outlet, they're looking for him. Me and Jamaal (Tinsley) have just got to take it personally and step up to the challenge. We've got to try to take him out of his game and hopefully he'll miss some more jump shots."

With Tinsley limited by a sprained right knee, coach Isiah Thomas said Tuesday he might pursue other options at the point. That could mean an even more prominent role for Ollie - perhaps even a start. Already, he has played more minutes at the point (47) than Tinsley (44). Another possibility, at least part-time, is to employ defensive stopper Ron Artest, as was the case during the fourth quarter of Game 1.

"The way Kidd is playing, we'll probably have a multitude of guys try to guard him," said Thomas. "Ron (Artest) did a good job on him the last five minutes of Game 1 but we were never in a position in Game 2 to really do that.

Thomas

"We'll try to do a few things differently but for the most part he's going to pretty much be able to do some things against Jamaal that we won't be able to stop. Some of the things he's able to do with their other people, we want to shut those things down. He did a good job of getting other people involved as well as keeping himself involved in Game 2."

While Tinsley is a rookie, Ollie is a well-traveled veteran with 33 games of playoff experience - 23 as a backup with Philadelphia on the run to the NBA Finals last year. He is less creative but more consistent, less prone to taking the risks that can lead to mistakes. During the regular season, Ollie committed just 26 turnovers in 29 games and had an assist/turnover ratio of 3.77. Tinsley averaged 3.4 turnovers - third-most in the NBA - and his assist/turnover ratio was 2.40.

Of course, the league leader in turnovers was Kidd (3.5), so a high turnover total is not necessarily a problem, depending on the individual.

Containing Kidd is not just a matter of a defensive approach. It actually starts with the offense. The Pacers are a turnover-sensitive team that, because of mediocre rebounding and a limited transition game, operates on a slim margin for error in the halfcourt. They have committed 38 turnovers in the first two games, leading to 35 points for the Nets. Cut down on the turnovers and the Pacers will reduce Kidd's open-court opportunities.

"When you're talking about Jason Kidd, that's a matchup you just concede," Thomas said. "It's that way night-in and night-out against most everybody he plays against except maybe (Gary) Payton (of Seattle). For the most part, when a guy has gotten to the level Kidd is at right now, he's going to win that matchup, so you go into the game understanding he's going to be able to do certain things. There are certain things you're not going to be able to stop him from doing, nor do we want Jamaal to try to stop him from doing. We want Jamaal to play at the level he's capable of playing at, and not necessarily try to go to a level where Kidd is at right now. Kidd is Kidd."