Where there's a will

Kidd's desire is steering the Nets on course to a title

SAN ANTONIO -- The Nets hadn’t even arrived for the start of the NBA Finals when they ran into serious trouble.

Buffeted by high winds during a severe storm, their team plane had to abort its landing three times Monday afternoon before finally touching down safely at the airport. "Worst landing I’ve ever had in my life," Nets center Jason Collins said. "We kept circling around and there was all this bad turbulence....It was scary."

If Collins thinks that was bad, just wait until Tim Duncan gets him alone in the lane. Led by Duncan’s inside presence, the Spurs are heavy favorites going into Wednesday night’s Game 1 at the SBC Center. San Antonio has size, depth, balance and a half-court defense that’s tougher to penetrate than Fort Knox.

And the Nets? Well, they have Jason Kidd and a 10-game playoff winning streak. But Kidd isn’t 7-feet tall like Duncan and nobody is ever going to confuse the Celtics and Pistons with the Lakers and Mavs.

No Kidding Three things the Spurs need to do to contain Kidd: 1. Change up the looks: Kidd is a workhorse who can get anywhere he wants on the court. Like Duncan, he is also harder to stop when he finds a comfort zone. The Spurs need to keep him off balance by rotating Parker, Bowen, Emanuel Ginobili, Speedy Claxton and others on him. 2. Keep him off the glass: One of the best rebounding point guards in NBA history, Kidd loves to go get the ball himself and then push it back up court. San Antonio must locate him and keep a body on him in an effort to limit his ability to get it and go. 3. Get back in transition: Against the Mavs, a 3-point shooting team, the Spurs mostly had to get back to the arc. Against the Nets they will need to get all the way back to the foul line to choke off Kidd’s penetration. With Parker often penetrating toward the basket, it’s imperative his teammates remember to get back to cover for him.

Still, Kidd might just be good enough to steal this series. Call it his mental toughness, intensity or fiestiness. He might be able to run through that Fort Knox wall -- or find a crack somewhere to slip through.

"I think his will wins a lot of games," said Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, who will be assigned to defend Kidd at times. "There’s just something about him that’s contagious amongst his teammates."

At age 30, with free agency looming, Kidd is on a mission to win an NBA championship. After a career defined by petty feuds in Dallas and a domestic abuse incident in Phoenix, he knows he has a chance now to stamp his place in NBA history.

"We had a chance last year, but unfortunately we lost to the Lakers," Kidd said Tuesday before his team's practice. "This being my second opportunity. This is a real dream."

If the Nets can make a few stops and get enough rebounds to get out on the fast break, Kidd’s dream could turn out to be the Spurs’ nightmare.

Unlike Duncan, Kidd can more easily exert his will on a series. Duncan will get his 25 points and 15 boards no matter how often Nets forward Kenyon Martin scowls at him or Collins hammers him across the forearm. But Duncan needs help, particularly at the end of games when opponents swarm him.

The Nets don’t have that problem as much with Kidd, since opponents can’t catch him in the open court. Also, Kidd has the size, strength and experience to cause headaches for young Spurs point guard Tony Parker. "We’ve got to make it as tough as possible [for Parker]," Kidd acknowledges.

Kidd won’t necessarily hurt San Antonio with his scoring. He averaged a career-best 18.7 points per game this season, but he shot only 41.4 percent. His danger rather is in his ability to see the floor, get others involved and to make plays.

"He’s the best [ball-retriever] I’ve ever seen," Spurs guard Steve Kerr said. "He just seems to get every loose ball, whether it’s off a rebound or on the floor."

Though not a great shooter, Kidd also has a knack for making the big shot when it counts. While the Spurs have struggled at times to knock down clutch free throws or open 3-pointers in this postseason, Kidd often seems to find a way.

Pistons fans still are shaking their heads over his game-winning baseline fadeaway at the buzzer to win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"That’s the enigma of Jason Kidd," Bowen said. "He can’t shoot. But he makes every big shot."

Against a bigger, deeper Spurs team, there will no doubt be times in this NBA Finals when the Nets feel as sick and helpless as they did on their white-knuckle flight into San Antonio.

But with Kidd at the controls there’s a feeling that no amount of turbulence will keep them from getting to their destination.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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