NEW YORK -- Here the Nets haven't been to the playoffs since 1998, haven't won a postseason game since 1994, haven't won a playoff series since 1984, and everybody's treating tonight's game against the Lakers at the Meadowlands like it's a preview of the NBA Finals.

	Jason Kidd had an MVP-type regular season, but can he be a true go-to guy in the playoffs?

Everybody, except anyone with their feet planted firmly on the ground. Including Nets coach Byron Scott.

"I can allow myself to think it, but I don't," Scott said. "And I won't until we're in the Eastern Conference finals, it's Game 7, there's three minutes left and we've got a nice little lead. Then I'll think about it. But now, I can't, to be honest with you."

For one thing, the Nets still have not clinched the No. 1 seed in the East for the playoffs. Losing nine of their last 11 on the road has allowed the Celtics and Pistons to get right back in Jersey's rear-view mirror.

At one point, the Nets were 15-11 in road games, but now they're three games under .500, at 17-20. That's a far cry from their 30-6 home record, easily the best in the East and one of the dominant homecourt marks in the entire league.

"At home we've come out like mad dogs, we're all over the court, we play hard," Scott said. "And on the road we come out like puppies. I don't know the reason for it. But that's how passive and nervous we are. The last month on the road we've been very tentative. If we had played like we did earlier, this race would be over."

But the questions about the Nets as a potential playoff force would be starting in earnest, just as they will when Jason Kidd & Co. open the postseason in an unfamiliar position.

"They're going to be the clear-cut favorites in the East," said Orlando's Doc Rivers. "And they should be. They've earned the right. But here's the thing about the East: I don't think any team believes there's not a team that they can't beat out there. I think the eighth team is going to think they can win it, just as much as the first team. This is the first time since I've been in the NBA where there's an honesty about that belief."

The Nets certainly feel they can beat anyone in the conference. They'll likely end up the only team to win 50 games. Except for getting swept by the Mavs, they've beaten all the other top Western teams at least once. The Lakers remain their last -- and most difficult -- challenge among the West's elite. Not that tonight's game means a lot.

"Even if we win the game, most people will think that the champion will still come out of the West," Scott said. "There's a perception that the East is the weaker conference."

It's richly deserved. From one through eight, this is the kind of parity you see in the NFL. Flawed teams abound. Start with the Nets. Can they go anywhere if they can't run the ball and are forced to execute a halfcourt offense on a steady basis? Jersey has scored a ton of points off the break this season, prompting New York's Latrell Sprewell to observe: "Jason will still find guys in the playoffs, but they're not going to be able to use the transition game as much. In the playoffs, you just don't get many points off the break."

But Rivers had an interesting counter. "Who's going to slow Kidd down? I think they'll still be able to run. They can play any way they want to. I know the playoffs are always played at a slower pace and people can make adjustments. But if it's so easy to stop Kidd from doing it, why wait? Why aren't we all doing it now?"

Good point. But let's see what happens if a Larry Brown, for instance, gets to draw up a playoff strategy to take the running game away from the Nets. You might see that in the opening round. As for their lack of a proven go-to player, the Nets think they're going to be tougher to handle because they do it by committee.

"We have a bunch of guys who can score," Kerry Kittles said. "We may not have one steady guy, but the other team is not going to be able to key on one player. Hopefully, that will work in our favor."

But the best teams usually have one star whom they ride, especially in fourth quarters. If that player isn't hitting shots or getting to the line, he does the next best thing: create shots and open looks for teammates by drawing double teams. This is where the Nets are really going to be tested. Look down the rosters of the best teams and they've all got at least one player who is able to draw an extra defender. The Lakers have Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Spurs have Tim Duncan. The Sixers have Allen Iverson.

	Jason Kidd Point Guard New Jersey Nets Profile
	2001-2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 74 14.9 7.3 10.0 .385 .823

"So much of playoff basketball is being able to force the defense to rotate, you've got to be able to do that," said ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. "When we had Patrick (Ewing) and even Larry (Johnson), we were able to get the defense to double down, and that gave Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell more open looks and room to operate. If you don't have a player who commands that kind of respect, it can't make it very difficult on your offense."

Do the Nets have such a player? For all his greatness in the open floor, Kidd often struggles in the halfcourt because he is not proficient at breaking a defense down. Kittles, Keith Van Horn and Kenyon Martin haven't required double-teams in the regular season. So why would a defense feel compelled to change that when the playoffs start?

That might be one of the many reasons Byron Scott isn't allowing himself think about a Nets-Lakers Finals.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.