Nets Have Learned One Big Lesson

Hope you're enjoying your vacation. We're fine. We hear Nick Van Exel still recommends Cancun. And there 's always Tahiti, Cannes or Maui.

Anywhere but here.

Much love,

The Nets.

Appropriately enough, the challenge of representing the Little East goes to the New Jersey Nets, who were in the NBA Finals last spring too, if only for the four games it took the Lakers to sweep them in what has become the traditional West walkover.

Of the 20 Finals games since the Bulls folded their dynasty in 1998, the West has won 16. Only one East team -- the Indiana Pacers -- has won two games, and that was after the Lakers led, 3-1, in 2000.

Officials from East teams insist that O'Neal exaggerated the difference between conferences, which was undoubtedly true.

It's also true that differences remain, with the West possessing almost all of the best big men, so it's appropriate too that the Nets prove themselves against the game's No. 2 giant, San Antonio's Tim Duncan.

Ten consecutive playoff victories show that the Nets are as ready as they'll ever be, and five playoff losses in which the Spurs blew double-figure leads show that if you take Duncan away, they're beatable

The Spurs remain favorites. The Nets may be good enough to beat the new over-under of one win by the East team but must do more to make this a real series.

At this level, experience is important and especially Net Coach Byron Scott's experience last spring, when, according to the teachings of his mentors, Pat Riley and Larry Brown, he tried to single-cover O'Neal.

This is another difference. East teams -- such as the Nets, Riley's Miami Heat and Brown's old Philadelphia 76ers -- dare to try that with O'Neal, although no one in the West does, having learned the hard way that it doesn't work against someone as dominant as Shaq.

Scott learned too, as O'Neal averaged 37 points and shot 60%. This spring, Scott says, the Nets will bring as much help as they need to contain Duncan.

"I'm definitely not waiting until Game 3 to start changing up on him if I have to," Scott said. "But you can't give him a steady diet of one thing."

Scott's challenge is having to change his straight-up regular-season defense, yet another East problem.

In 2000, Indiana Pacer Coach Larry Bird quickly grasped the futility of trying to cover O'Neal with one man, which was how Indiana had played all season, and tried switching to double-teaming, rotating on the fly.